Dear Parent / Carer

The Rapid Improvement Board convened on 3rd July, here are the headlines from this meeting:

1. The Board listened to a presentation on "Rapid improvement to our KS3 Curriculum and Assessment at LJS", presented by one of the school’s Senior Leaders, from which the board was able to gain feedback on the focus and progress of the school’s improvement plans.  This supported us in performing a deep scrutiny of KS3 curriculum and assessment, using external reports from Subject Specialist Leaders in Education who had recently reviewed a number of departments in school to evidence the ongoing progress. The outcome of this scrutiny will form a body of knowledge to develop and deliver a KS3 curriculum and assessment that is fit for purpose for 19/20 academic year. 
2. School Improvement Support has continued throughout the past few weeks from the nominated National Leader in Education (NLE) along with Subject Specialist Leaders in Education (SSLE).  The SSLE has undertaken external reviews which included:

• A Middle Leader Discussion,
• KS3 Curriculum Review,
• Computing/Business and
• Religious Studies subject reviews.

The Local Authority’s  Interim Chief Education Officer has carried out a Learning Walk with the Headteacher and the Head of English, which included both KS3 and KS4 lessons. Within her report, Mrs McConnell highlighted both strengths and areas for development.  Mrs McConnell also highlighted that effective marking was evident in books and examples of high-quality feedback was evidenced to support pupil progress in learning.  

3. The  NLE and the Headteacher highlighted that a number of senior and middle leaders had visited an Outstanding School in order to share best practice and to develop their thinking on KS3 curriculum delivery. This has been really helpful in informing next steps with curriculum development. 

If there are any further questions regarding this process, please do contact me using the Parent Champion contact e-mail

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Regards
Paul Worthy

Dear Parent/Carer

I am pleased to provide the following update for the activity of the Laurence Jackson Rapid Improvement Board (RIB).

The RIB convened on Wednesday the 19th June in order to monitor and validate progress made against the agreed Improvement Plan.

The main headlines from the meeting are:

An External Review of Pupil Premium which was commissioned by the Local authority took place in early February and was used to formulate a Pupil Premium action plan ( available on the school website).
NB - Pupil Premium funding is additional funding allocated to all publicly funded schools in England. It's designed to help and support disadvantaged pupils of all abilities perform better.

The RIB reviewed and action plan in terms of the priority focus across year 11 and then the role out across the whole school. The RIB acknowledged that the action plan was only 4 months old however, key actions were rolling through and are starting to have the desired impact on attendance and student/parent engagement.

There are raised expectations for books, as part of the improvement strategy, which are beginning to show in the presentation of work by students. Parents/carers should also be seeing this in their child's books.
Several staff workshops/training sessions have taken place over the past few months to reinforce the improvement to Teaching and Learning programme.
In addition to this, the foundation for improved leadership is starting to take shape with the introduction of leadership mentors at both senior and middle leader level. External visits have taken place to observe and ensure that good progress is made and good practice is taking place.

A review of the financial situation of the school was presented to the board member.  The finances were in good order.

Kind Regards

Paul Worthy
Member of the RIB and Parent Champion