WELCOME FROM THE PRINCIPAL

At Strood Academy we are relentless in our mission to ensure that all pupils receive an excellent education that leads to real choice in life. We are committed to our pupils, supporting them to flourish as individuals ready for the 21st century. We offer our pupils a commitment to excellence based on high-quality teaching and a wide range of experiences beyond the classroom.

Our collective mission through our small school model ensures our pupils receive a world class IB education which allows them to become highly ambitious, successful citizens who are well positioned to create a better world. We set unapologetically high expectations, challenging our pupils to believe in their ability and have the choice in life they truly deserve. We ensure our pupils are at the forefront of tomorrow.

• Our pupils believe in the value of their learning journey and are proud of their education.
• Our parents believe in our mission and work in partnership to achieve excellence.
• Our staff believe in the transformative power of education.

We explicitly teach our values which are embedded within the heart of our academy. They are central in everything we do. Our academy values provide our framework to enable our journey to excellence.

At Strood Academy we are working to achieve Vision 2028 which is underpinned by 10 foundations. These foundations are at the cornerstone of all that we say, we think and we do. Whilst we set upon our journey to excellence, our foundations will remain the key ingredients for success; they will remain constant and enable us to achieve Vision 2028. Vision 2028 has been developed in collaboration with LAT Vision 2030 to ensure a Trust approach to continuous academy improvement.

• We hold the highest expectations and embed positive engagement as part of our curriculum;
• We teach an ambitious and knowledge rich curriculum;
• We inspire every individual to become an active global citizen;
• We are relentless in creating a better world;
• We develop strong, collaborative community relations;
• We take pride in our safe, nurturing and inclusive learning environment;
• We lead with expertise;
• We care about our staff;
• We harness the power of technology
• We promote social justice through excellent outcomes for all.

This is a happy, warm and welcoming school and we pride ourselves on the relationships that we have with our pupils, caring for them throughout their education at Strood Academy. We also work closely with families to ensure that all of our pupils are committed to learning and develop the character necessary to take advantage of all the opportunities in which we provide.

We deliver innovative teaching and learning through our broad, balanced and inclusive curriculum allowing our pupils to experience a rich variety of subjects. Our curriculum and lessons are sequenced to enable our pupils to build on their prior knowledge and further develop their understanding in order for them to achieve the highest outcomes regardless of their starting point.

Our staff are dedicated to providing an exceptional learning environment where pupils are challenged and stretched to achieve their personal best. Our enrichment programme and curriculum are designed to support the development of our pupils into well rounded individuals who engage as positive citizens within their communities as well as becoming lifelong learners.

Pupils are encouraged and supported to flourish through a culture of high-expectations, aspirations and traditional values. We have a warm but strict approach and expect our pupils to uphold the highest standards in terms of attitude to learning, behaviour, attendance and appearance. We have a small school structure within our academy where pupils are placed into one of three colleges. This allows our highly skilled staff to provide excellent pastoral support, nurturing them academically, socially and spiritually in a much smaller environment. We look forward to welcoming you into our community as we journey towards excellence together. Our collective ambition is exceptionally high, we will not make excuses for failing to deliver on our commitment to excellence.

At Strood Academy we pride ourselves on providing excellent pastoral care for our pupils. We are able to do this by having a small school structure. All pupils are assigned to one of our colleges which are:

• Victory College
• Hercules College
• Trafalgar College

Our colleges are each named after a ship built in Chatham Dockyard, thereby maintaining a link to the heritage of our area. Each college represents just over 400 pupils and is led by a Vice Principal and two Assistant Principals. Each college is supported by an extensive team to provide excellent pastoral care for our pupils which includes a Head of Pastoral, Deputy Head of Pastoral, Senior student Support Manager, two student Support Managers, a Safeguarding Officer and College Admin. This college team is available throughout the academy day to support all pupils to ensure we fulfil our ambition of providing excellent pastoral care for all.

Our curriculum at Strood Academy is a 7 year curriculum, where pupils commence in Year 7 and follow their studies through until Year 13. Our curriculum is carefully designed to support long term memory which builds on prior knowledge. In Years 7, 8 and 9 pupils will have access to an ambitious and rigorous curriculum which is delivered through the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP). The MYP places great emphasis on international-mindedness, interdisciplinary learning and service to others. It covers expected national curriculum areas but also offers opportunities to be actively involved in the community and promotes environmental responsibility, as well as the knowledge and skills to be effective in an ever-changing world. In addition to this, pupils will develop 10 key character traits where the IB learner profile will be embedded within the taught curriculum and all other aspects of pupil’s development, including pastoral, social times, enrichment and extracurricular activities to support their holistic learning and development. In Year 10 and Year 11, pupils select a number of options which enables them to personalise their curriculum. Our options are broad to enable pupils to fulfil their interests and continue their love for learning.

Our curriculum is focused to enable pupils the choice in life they truly deserve. As part of this pupils study a broad curriculum throughout their studies which is inclusive of pupils studying the EBacc in Key Stage 4. We place high emphasis on ensuring that pupils are fully prepared for their stage and achieve exceptional examination outcomes. Within the Sixth Form at Strood Academy we provide a number of courses and pathways for our pupils. Our International Baccalaureate courses are extremely popular as well as A-Level and a range of vocational options. Many of our pupils complete a range of qualifications enabling them to achieve the International Baccalaureate Career Pathway (IBCP). We are launching T-Levels at Strood Academy which enables pupils both academic study as well as career based experiences and employment. All pupils within the Sixth Form also complete the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Our Sixth Form continues to grow due to the academic successes of our pupils with record numbers of pupils progressing to university study. This is supported by the extensive and well developed careers programme and advice that all pupils receive within the academy.

Our teaching pedagogy at Strood Academy is supported by extensive educational research, ensuring that no time is wasted and pupils maximise their studies to achieve the very best outcomes. Our teachers use assessment regularly. This supports further intervention and teaching to enable our pupils to be successful. We issue reports to parents indicating progress, attitude and homework three times a year as well as providing a parents evening to support the key relationships between the academy and home. We have unrivalled facilities and equipment that enhance the learning experience and engage pupils across the curriculum. We encourage innovation through our teaching and learning with the use of Chromebooks and each pupil is given their own one for their entire time at the academy, aiding learning to continue beyond the school day. Our variety of teaching and learning activities reflect the balance of traditional and innovative approaches that are used in the classroom. Pupils have the opportunity to develop their core knowledge through regular retrieval practice and through our homework strategy using knowledge organisers. Homework is an essential ingredient for personal success and forms an important partnership with each family. Learning continues beyond the end of the school day, at weekends and holiday periods. All pupils have the opportunity to be involved with a vast range of activities and interests that improve learning, self-esteem and well-being, and help build lifelong friendships.

We believe that all pupils should be equally valued in our academy regardless of their needs or approach to learning. We strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all pupils can flourish and feel safe. High quality teaching and differentiating for individual pupils, is the first step in responding to pupils who have or may have SEND. The academy regularly and carefully reviews the quality of teaching for all pupils through a robust system of quality assurance which enables our teachers to continually improve and ensure they are meeting the needs of every pupil. This includes reviewing and, where necessary, improving teachers’ understanding of strategies to identify and support vulnerable pupils.

The Endeavour Centre Strood Academy continues to work especially closely with Medway Local Authority and in spring 2023 work commenced on the Endeavour Centre, which is due to open in October 2023. The Endeavour Centre is a Specialist Resource Provision (SRP) which provides pupils with an Education Health Care Plan and diagnosis of autism access to an exceptional education. The Endeavour Centre can support up to 25 pupils, who receive a bespoke curriculum to support their learning as well as access mainstream lessons and subject specialists. Our academy is one, where the Endeavour Centre is truly part of Strood Academy and enables our pupils to feel part of our school community.

We look forward to welcoming you to our academy.

Jon Richardson
Principal