9th December 2022
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
THANK YOU ALL I thought last week was a bit different and then I received a phone call on Monday from Ofsted announcing they would be inspecting the school on Tuesday and Wednesday. There is literally no notice for these things. On Monday afternoon we focused on getting learners together to inform them about the process as well as sending the required letters, surveys and emails out to families, staff and learners. I would like to thank everyone in the community for their support over the last few days. I had the privilege of sitting with the lead inspector to go through all of the lovely comments left through the surveys that went out. The data was really encouraging and some of it brought a tear to my eye. Community is a central part of what Honywood is about and I was so pleased that the inspection team understood our culture. During the first day the team did six deep dives into subjects across the school. This involved talking to subject leaders and teachers, visiting many lessons, talking to learners and examining books and feedback. The subjects included: English, Maths, Science, Geography, History and PE. We ended the first day feeling very buoyant about the fantastic things they had seen that would go on to help them make a judgement for the quality of education. They really recognised the strengths that have been forged through the journey we have been on over the last 5 years. The behaviour from our learners was, as usual, calm, considerate and very respectful. The inspectors were very impressed and did not see one thing out of place regarding conduct. They were very complimentary about our approach to behaviour and our policies and systems that lead to the creation of an inclusive and safe environment. The team also spent a great deal of day two looking at how we care for our learners holistically and contribute to their personal development. Again, this shone out
and our learners demonstrated the fantastic progress they are making in developing their character through our values, capitals and enrichment opportunities. I am unable to share the outcome of the inspection at this time until they have approved and finalised the report. This was our first inspection under this new tougher framework, however, we approached the process like any other day and as such the team were able to get an authentic view of what happens on a daily basis at Honywood. Once we receive the final report I shall send it out to you along with more detailed feedback about how the outcomes were achieved. I expect to receive the report in the new year. In the meantime have a lovely weekend and wrap up warm. James Saunders A WARMING WINTER CONCERT After a very busy week it was also great to be able to showcase the creative talent of our learners last night during our winter concert. There was singing, dancing and dramatic performances aplenty. I would like to thank the wonderful Expressive Arts department for their support this week in preparing learners for the show on top of dealing with the inspection. An event such as this is difficult to organise at the best of times, however, at the end of a very busy term it can take its toll on the best of us. Thankfully we were able to pull the night off with no major technical issues and all the performers had an opportunity to show us what they can do. Last night really reinforced my message from last week about the power of the arts and the joy they bring to us. I am sure you will agree - performances such as this bring warmth and happiness to us all.
LEARNING REVIEW PROCESS Don’t forget that the learning reviews will be taking place after at the start of next term. These meetings will give parents an opportunity to talk with learning group leaders about how their child is progressing. Learners will be taking an active role in this meeting and will use their preparation time next week to complete the necessary reflection work to ensure that the meetings are valuable. Mr Smith has created an excellent set of resources that learning group leaders will be using. I have asked him to circulate these to families next week so that they are able to see what learners are doing and hopefully engage in the conversation of learning ahead of the review meeting.
To our C9 Netball team who played in the Essex Cup v Eastwood School in Southend on Wednesday 7th December. Honywood won the match with a score of 29-12. Well played!
Dates for the Diary 28th Nov - 16th Dec
C11 Mock Exams
Fri 16th December
Christmas lunch for learners (all cohorts)
Tues 20th December
End of Term (early finish)
Mon 9th January 2023
All learners return to school
Thurs 12th January
C10 Maths Enrichment day at University of Essex
Thurs 26th January
C11 Parents Evening
Thurs 9th February
Dance Show