Introduction

I would like to warmly welcome you to the Ryecroft Academy website.

Our website is a place where parents, carers, families, stakeholders and prospective parents and carers can access a wealth of information about the academy. In addition to this, the website provides you with a sense of the quality, culture and ethos of our fantastic and nurturing school of which I, as the Principal, am immensely proud.

Parents and our wider community can be confident that every one of our children is safe, cherished, encouraged and brilliantly taught. Equality and inclusion are at the heart of all that we do.

The professional team wholeheartedly recognise that our children are wonderful and deserve nothing but the very best.

Ryecroft Academy benefits extensively from being a part of The GORSE Academies Trust which is passionately committed to providing an exceptional education to some of the most disadvantaged pupils in the Leeds city region.

As an academy, we are extremely fortunate to be in receipt of significant capital development investment which is transforming our building and site into a first class, charming and vibrant school.

It is a privilege to lead Ryecroft Academy and I am proud of our identity and the unique character of the school. I hope this is successfully captured in our vision.

If you would like to find out more about the remarkable things that are taking place at the academy then please do contact us. We would love for you to visit us to see the impact of our exceptional work first hand.

Helen Townsley
Principal

Academy Visions

Leadership and Governance

The transformational improvements at Ryecroft Academy can be attributed to exceptionally high standards of leadership and governance being both distributed and sustained. Leaders at all levels have developed clear expertise and an impactful skillset. The highly positive impact of leaders has cascaded across all areas of the school’s work. Particularly impressive are the achievements of vulnerable children coupled with the meticulous care afforded to them.

At Ryecroft Academy leaders establish and communicate a clear vision for their areas of responsibility identifying key priorities and strategies to realise this. They rigorously hold true to this vision and through this secure the commitment of their team. Leaders will always be upbeat and motivational, encouraging others to be the same.

Further to this, leaders recognise their collective responsibility for all areas of school, jointly driving the standards agenda.

Exceptionally high standards of leadership and governance have been rigorously maintained and there is a consistent determination to ensure continued refinement in all areas of the school’s work. Governors are exceptionally knowledgeable about our academy, and they make strong and highly positive contributions to the school’s strategic priorities.

Our culture is one where leaders communicate clearly with purpose and reason. They are approachable, they listen, are empathetic and solution focused. Ryecroft Academy leaders effectively hold their teams to account; intelligently balancing praise, challenge and support to ensure maximum impact. They model excellent practise in all aspects of their work inspiring others to be the best they can be. This will include within their own teaching and classroom environment, in their relationships and communication. Furthermore, leaders model the qualities of great learners being reflective, humble and open to the ideas of others.

Leaders have the highest expectations of and aspirations for pupils, putting no ceiling on their achievements. Leaders are attentive to detail, knowing that this is important to ensure the highest standards. They address everything that is not as it should be with a sense of urgency. A key priority for leaders is thriving on negating the barriers and challenges that pupils and members of the community face, enabling them to flourish and prosper.

At Ryecroft Academy, leaders carry themselves with confidence and authority so that all are keenly aware of their presence. They are highly visible throughout the school day, particularly at the start and end of the day and lunchtimes. They spend the majority of their time in classrooms. Assemblies are always used as an opportunity to model best practice with great attention to detail, purpose, and firmly rooted in school values.

As an academy that has significantly invested in system improvement, Ryecroft Academy leaders are having a demonstrable impact on the strength of leadership and the security and pace of school improvement in partner settings.

Achievement

We are determined to ensure all our pupils, including our vulnerable pupils, can achieve and excel in their learning, regardless of their background and the barriers they face. The professional team at Ryecroft Academy pride themselves in enabling our young people to learn impressively and produce high-quality work across the curriculum and in all phases.

Any sharply identified areas of improvement are keenly prioritised utilising our depth of expertise and through research driven strategies. If there are gaps, they are addressed swiftly and robustly.

It matters a great deal for us to prepare our pupils exceptionally well for the next stage in their education as well as future employment and training.

As an academy we share best practice externally as we support system wide improvement. This collaborative approach is central to our ethos.

Curriculum and Teaching

At Ryecroft Academy we are committed to excellence in all that we do and we recognise that this is achieved through a constant and rigorous drive to improve and develop the quality of teaching, learning, and the curriculum offer across the school. We are proud that across all curriculum areas and for each year group, sharply planned, impactful and highly responsive teaching sees of pupils securely master and retain the skills and knowledge required for learners to be successful and motivated. Exceptionally high standards in teaching and the curriculum have been sustained. This has enabled the academy to share best practice externally, contributing to system-wide improvement.

Positive attitudes, a strong sense of self, a clear sense of purpose and, importantly, a sense of belonging, are prerequisites to effective learning. At Ryecroft Academy we are committed to establishing climates for learning that not only inspire, stimulate and engage, but engender a sense of purpose and identity. The climate for learning successfully creates resilient and enthusiastic learners who confidently persevere when work is challenging.

We are firmly committed and determined to ensuring Ryecroft pupils emerge with strong foundations including an eloquent and competent grasp of language, expression and vocabulary. These communication skills will be developed and exhibited across all subject areas recognising the importance of a genuinely balanced and rich curriculum offer. Furthermore, we strive to ensure our pupils develop highly effective skills for collaborative learning.

Personalised provision for our pupils, ensures that every child is challenged and supported to reach their potential and thrive. We know that precise teaching centres on the child’s current learning needs, revisiting concepts and enabling learners to secure knowledge and skills with depth. This approach motivates and inspires learners to achieve the next step and be aspirational for their future. The actions of professionals at the academy combine powerfully to have a transformational impact on the learning and wellbeing of vulnerable pupils, seeing them exceptionally well prepared for current and future learning.

At Ryecroft Academy we have a relentless focus on the standard of work in books. It is essential that they are kept in immaculate condition and are looked after with the upmost care. Our books will exemplify the highest standards in terms of effort, presentation and pride. They must showcase the excellent progress made by children in their learning revealing our children to be highly productive, reflective and studious.

Safeguarding

At Ryecroft Academy, leaders have established a deep-rooted culture of vigilance and openness in which safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and the highest of priorities. We strive to ensure multi-agency work is highly effective and professionals in all roles are notably skilled and conscientious through continuous professional development, regular dialogue and strong systems and procedures. Our safeguarding culture incorporates a willingness to actively learn from safeguarding cases and incidents, and we act robustly with tenacity and compassion.

Above all else, pupils are kept safe, and they feel safe and happy. Hearing the voice and experiences of our pupils is key priority for us and our curriculum is highly impactful in teaching pupils about how they can stay safe. Our safeguarding curriculum reflects our context and the evolving needs of modern society. We make certain that our families are provided with exceptional standards of care, and we ensure that they know who to go to for support.

Great emphasis is placed on ensuring that leaders, including governors, fulfil their responsibilities and the statutory requirements. Leaders are receptive to challenge but they also have the confidence to challenge others in the best interests of the children in our care.

It is of paramount importance to us that our professional team receive thorough and appropriate supervision to enhance the quality of their work and provide them with excellent support. Academy and trust leaders follow local authority procedures in managing safeguarding concerns and allocations.

We are proud of the exceptional standards we hold in terms of our safeguarding practice and provision.

Personal Development and Wellbeing

A key priority for us is to ensure that our pupils are conscientious and active citizens, engaging in the care of themselves and the world around them. We strive to make certain that all pupils, as a deep rooted and routine part of their character, are kind, compassionate and respectful to everybody. We tailor learning experiences to make sure we promote the fundamental British values and ensure all of our children, regardless of their ability or background, achieve well.

Above all else and building on those values, it is our determination to ensure that every one of our pupils is ambitious for the future and passionate about their personal aspiration and the positive difference they can make.

We teach children how to keep themselves fit and healthy (their physical, mental and emotional well-being), as well as promoting their understanding of healthy relationships. Our children are taught about care for the environment and how be considerate in their actions, placing emphasis on the need for conservation and sustainability.

Implementing a high-quality curriculum which has PHSE and SMSC as a golden threads. This connects to our determination to celebrate, admire and embrace difference as well as our focus on looking after ourselves and the world around us. Meticulously planned and inspirational assemblies contribute to and complement our rich curriculum offer.

Having the highest expectations of ourselves and all of our children. Recognising, valuing and celebrating children’s efforts, achievements, character traits and contributions through our Positive Discipline and House Systems.

Providing young people with meaningful pupil leadership opportunities which enable them to be contributing and community focused citizens. Comprehensive approaches at the academy prepare our children for success in their future.

Of particular strength is our work to enhance the personal development and wellbeing of vulnerable pupils, ensuring they are routinely exposed to highly enriching and meaningful opportunities, negating and removing complex barriers that they face.

Prioritising the wellbeing and mental health of our young people and in doing so, ensuring that their voices thoughts and feelings are heard. Support is tailored to children’s personal needs ensuring that they can flourish and prosper as confident and happy individuals.

Providing our young people with wonderful and diverse enrichment and enhancement opportunities which include sporting, academic, creative and wellbeing disciplines. This contributes to the development of talent and enables the school experience for our young people to be being highly memorable, enjoyable and empowering.

Leaders, including governors, prioritise exceptionally well, always being acutely focused on preventative and responsive elements that take clear account of contextual and current factors and pupils’ aspirations.

As an academy that has notable involvement in system improvement, we have highly positive impact on Personal Development and well-being provision in our partner settings.

Attendance and Behaviour

At Ryecroft Academy we strive to ensure that our pupils are confident, self-assured learners who are proud of their school and sincere in the value that they place on their education. Their attendance and behaviour reflect their enjoyment of the curriculum, their feelings of happiness and safety in school and their passion for learning.

Pupils’ impeccable behaviour for learning and conduct mirrors their own self-driven determination to take every advantage of the opportunities that become available to them each day both during the school day and outside of the school day as well as the school’s effective strategies to promote high standards. Our exceptional standards of behaviour and attendance have been sustained over time.

Our culture, which seeks to embrace every member of our community, sees our pupils demonstrating genuine care for one another. We aim for our pupils to regard the achievements and successes of others as highly as their own. Pupils have a genuine sense of belonging to our school community.

It is of paramount importance to us that our pupils are safe and secure at all times, free from bullying and empowered to flourish, achieve and prosper.

Leaders, including governors, ensure that pupils who need it receive exceptional and bespoke support from highly skilled and caring professionals to improve their attendance and behaviour with demonstrable impact.

Through sincere collaboration with our partners, we share best practice externally to support system wide improvement.

Early Years

At Ryecroft Academy we recognise that the start that we provide for our youngest children is fundamental to their future success. Early Years provision is deeply connected to every other aspect of the academy and all leaders fully invest in ensuring its quality and status. We are committed to working together to give children the academic and life skills they will need to be successful in all aspects of life. Our work in this area is pivotal to improvement in academies across our trust group.

We strive to ensure that our youngest children are happy, enthusiastic and confident with high self-esteem and aspirations to excel in whatever the choose to do. We see every child as a competent, capable learner with enormous potential and we delight in making it our mission to unlock and maximise their potential. We strive to ensure that our children develop respect for themselves, each other, our school and community. The curriculum that our children receive is of exceptional strength. It is tailored precisely to the needs of children in our cohort and is aligned with what is promoted by high quality and reputable current research and educational thinking.

We aim to strike an inclusive balance of direct teaching and experiential play, seeing great value in both child-led and adult initiated learning. We believe that systematic and regular direct teaching enhances and deepens the quality of child-initiated learning and a careful equilibrium enables children to flourish and prosper in securing essential life skills.

There is clear evidence to demonstrate that exceptionally high standards of education and care in the early years have been sustained. This is reflected in the achievements of our youngest children as well as their preparedness for their next steps. The actions of professionals at the academy combine powerfully to have a transformational impact on the learning and wellbeing of vulnerable pupils, seeing them exceptionally well prepared for current and future learning. We are rightly proud of our comprehensive work focused on inducting children into our setting as they embark on their education as well as our meticulous transition work centred upon successful progression into Key Stage 1

We believe that the indoor and outdoor environments should exude high quality, purpose and challenge. As enticing and inviting places, they should fully connect to the learning needs of our children continuously evolving and adapting to precisely meet children’s needs. All adults should have a sharp understanding of where children are in their learning and they ensure that each and every interaction is impactful in extending learning further.

We cherish our relationship with parents and carers, recognising that our partnership underpins all that we are seeking to achieve in the community that we value and respect so dearly.

Inclusion

At Ryecroft Academy we are passionate about inclusion and exceptional standards have been sustained over considerable time. We continually strive to refine and further enhance our approaches to inclusion and the desire to always improve is what causes our practice to be so strong.

Our children are cherished, and they thrive on knowing how sincerely they belong to our school community. Our pupils mean the world to us, and we are determined to ensure that they can flourish and prosper, now and in their future – academically, in their character development and as they develop as contributing and active citizens.

Professionals have a sharp and forensic understanding of pupils needs as well as their barriers to wellbeing and learning. Professionals have notable expertise which has been carefully crafted overtime through high quality professional development and from working within a culture of educational excellence. Further to this, we collaborate with and use the expertise of highly reputable external partners such as GIPSIL and MindMate. These factors combine to enable an exceptional offer, leading to highly positive outcomes and experiences for our young people.

As highly collaborative professionals, our success as an academy is utilised to share learning and best practice externally as we support system-wide improvement. This outreach work, and our reflections from it, further enhance our own offer as well as strengthening the practice of our partners.

Principal’s Welcome and Academy Vision

Introduction

Academy Visions