Dear Parents/Carers,

Thank you for your ongoing support. This week we’ve had an incredibly busy week at Strood Academy. On Monday we welcomed Simon Beamish (CEO) and Emma Elwin (Academies Director) to our academy. They spent their time meeting pupils, visiting lessons and speaking with many different members of staff. The feedback continues to be especially positive which we were extremely proud of. We have some key foci moving into Module 4 in relating to teaching and learning and these include questioning and the further delivery of our middle years programme. We will continue to tackle all areas of development with a relentless approach. 

On Tuesday we held our annual safeguarding audit from the Local Authority, again this was remarkably positive. With our reviewer spending time with pupils and staff as well as observing pupils in lessons and unstructured times. The leadership of safeguarding continues to be a strength.

On Wednesday we welcomed our SEND governor to discuss the progress of SEND and the SRP at Strood Academy. We had the chance to observe many SEND interventions and enjoy the positive environment that has been created by our specialist staff. 

This week we also celebrate the Maths homework from our Year 7 pupils, being the winners across the Trust. Well done to all involved!

Last week we welcomed two exchange students from Germany. They enjoy the culture and community feel of Strood Academy. They were generous enough to write about their experiences with us. A German Student’s Experience at Strood Academy.

Last night we had a superb turn out for our Year 10 parents evening. The commitment of our teaching staff working with parents and pupils is incredible, we know that this will put our pupils in a great position as they continue their studies. We will also be reviewing our processes to ensure we use multiple areas of the school next time as the main hall just wasn’t big enough to hold such an event. A good problem for us to manage due to the excellent engagement and attendance from parents. 

Next week is our final week of term, we are excited to celebrate our pupils' continued success and achievements. 

We look forward to seeing all pupils back in the academy on Monday morning by 8:30am. 

Have a restful weekend.

Regards

Mr Jon Richardson

Principal

STRUCTURE OF THE DAY 

ATTENDANCE

Since coming back after the Christmas holidays, we have come together as a community to reflect on all we have achieved so far. This includes:

• Introducing and embedding routines for students such as morning line ups, the assembly protocol and focusing on transitions around the academy building; encouraging students are moving between lessons with pace and purpose and ensuring all students feel safe when moving around the academy

• Focusing on combating 'Culture Killers' such as poor uniform standards, litter around the academy, use of foul and inappropriate language and body language within lessons; ensuring all students are presenting as focused and ready to learn

• Implementing a standardised homework policy across the academy, where students are aware of the expectations around homework as well as the importance of this 

• Promoting students' extra curricular interests and hobbies through a range of lunchtime and after school clubs and activities

• Improving relations with parents, carers and the local community through information shared social media platforms and in Weekly Parent Bulletins

• Further improving communication with parents and carers through events such as face-to-face Parents Evenings, Year 7 Meet the Form Tutor, Parent Voice Forums and Parental Drop-Ins as well as tools such as 'Request Call Back' button and college-specific email addresses

We are immensely proud of the progress we have made so far, and while acknowledging that we are still at the very beginning of our Vision 2028 journey, we are looking forward to the successes we will continue to achieve along the way.