Ethos, Values and Vision
Ethos and Values
Our aim as a school is to create excellent and enjoyable learning for all members of our school so that each individual is encouraged to use their talents and to achieve his or her personal best. We expect all members of our school to be conscientious, considerate and co-operative. As a result they take a pride in their work, respect others and enjoy working as part of a team. The happiness and well-being of our students is important to us and we support and encourage them in every way we can. Our strong and inclusive House system encourages every student to contribute to the school and local community, whilst receiving the care, guidance and support they require to succeed. In addition, each child has a form tutor who personally oversees their academic progress and well-being, and a year leader who ensures the ethos in the year group is positive and supportive.
Vision for JMHS
At JMHS we enable everyone to learn and to thrive by:
- Ensuring there is excellent and enjoyable learning for all.
- Supporting each individual to achieve their personal best.
- Building a sustainable community where we all support each other.
This school development plan aims to build on current strengths and address areas of weakness. The plan covers the three-year period from September 2023 until August 2026. During these three years we will build upon the successes and achievements of the past three years but we will specifically focus on the following priorities listed below:
- Remodel the curriculum with a three-year Key Stage Three and a two-year Key Stage Four.
- Enable teachers to make more effective use of modelling, questioning, deliberate practice, homework and revision.
- Develop an approach where we systematically teach good behaviour; make our routines and how we work clearer and redesign these to maximise good behaviour at all times.
- Develop a coherent approach to promoting equality, teaching tolerance, and eliminating all types of discriminatory behaviour.
- Further develop our systems and their implementation for safeguarding.
- Enable our new Sixth Form Leadership Team to improve the PSHRE programme, careers education and guidance, the enrichment programme and use of private study.
- Research whether we should join a MAT and if so decide which MAT to join and then work on the process of joining the MAT.
- Improve sports facilities, secure funding for new science labs and further improve school facilities and their use in and beyond the school day.
We will achieve these aims through:
- Highly effective leadership, management and governance.
- Ensuring effective financial management including careful monitoring of expenditure, ensuring best value and maximising funding to improve our facilities.
- Policies and procedures that treat all members of the school equitably and respectfully.
- Supporting all our students and staff with developing their knowledge and skills in a positive environment where we all enjoy working together.
The current School Development Plan can be viewed by clicking the link below:
Curriculum Vision and Intent
At JMHS, our aim is to provide excellent and enjoyable learning for all students through a broad and balanced curriculum. Through developing excellent knowledge in each of our faculty areas and a broader appreciation of culture, our students develop a love of learning. Through learning the curriculum, we strive to develop the qualities of being conscientious, considerate and co-operative in our students and to enhance their opportunities for life.
Each of our curriculum areas has identified key knowledge that will enable students to have an excellent understanding of our cultural heritage and the world around us. The key knowledge taught in our curriculum at least matches and, in many subjects, goes beyond national curriculum requirements.
In designing our subject curricula, teachers have sequenced the teaching of knowledge, so key concepts that underpin understanding and later knowledge are covered earlier in the course, and then revisited numerous times as more detailed knowledge is built. We connect new learning to previous experience and knowledge and make learning relevant to real world contexts where opportunities allow.
Our curriculum includes an extensive enrichment programme (which includes a wide range of clubs, cultural visits and leadership opportunities), so that students enjoy learning and understand how aspects of science, the arts and culture are interconnected in a fascinating and exciting way. Enrichment activities also help develop student’s personal skills such as confidence, team building, emotional development, physical fitness – all of which support their progress at school and beyond it into later life.
We are aware that students learn at different rates and that some students will find learning more challenging than others. A core principle for us is all students are supported to learn. In order to achieve this, we put in place additional group and individual support to help students struggling to achieve mastery. We set students who have achieved fluency and mastery more complex challenges.
Our students are given many opportunities to apply their knowledge in a broad range of academic and vocational studies, so that they become increasingly confident and skilful in application. This enables our students to achieve success in examinations at GCSE and Advanced Level, but also to solve complex real-life problems.
Our curriculum pages provide in full our curriculum vision and intent as well as details of subject curricula. These can be viewed by clicking the link below: