Wadham School | Crewkerne | General Information


	General Information About the School Motto: Quality and Caring Mission Statement: Learning in partnership, we seek constant improvement in everything we do Aims Wadham is a fair and caring community where everyone is equally valued; All students at Wadham are entitled to a worthwhile education which allows for different interests and abilities; Everyone at Wadham should have high expectations of themselves and each other; All students will be expected to fulfil their potential across a wide range of activities, where the emphasis is on personal rather than comparative achievement, in preparation for adult life; As a school with a Church of England Foundation, Wadham will foster a mutually supportive partnership between School and Community where Christian values and the life-long process of education can flourish. Wadham opened in purpose built accommodation in 1971 as a Church of England Voluntary Controlled Upper Comprehensive replacing local grammar and secondary modern schools in Crewkerne and Ilminster. Students range in age from 13 to 18. The catchment area is basically rural with children from Ilminster and the surrounding villages being transported to and from Wadham on coaches under contract to the local authority. Currently there are 745 on roll, including 180 in the Sixth Form. Top Site, Buildings and Facilities Wadham is situated on a 20 acre site on the outskirts of Crewkerne, an attractive market town of about 6,000 people, which lies in beautiful countryside within easy motoring distance of the South Coast and of Exmoor and the Quantock Hills. The M5 motorway at Taunton is about 18 miles from Crewkerne and there is a good train service from Crewkerne to London (Waterloo). The buildings are attractively designed in reconstructed hamstone. They include the following:- A central block containing Administrative Offices, Staff Room, Sixth Form Centre, Assembly area and Lecture Theatre, Drama Studio, Music Room, Art Studios, Home Economics Suite, Library Resource Centre. Year Blocks and associated specialist departmental areas A well equipped Science Block containing 7 laboratories and prep-rooms A Design Technology Block recently refurbished Sports Hall, smaller multi-purpose Hall, Playing Fields, Red Gra pitch. Work on a new Sports Hall will begin shortly. Learning Support Centre Community Room with associated offices and kitchen Two newly refurbished and equipped rooms for Information and Communication Technology. Top Staff and Investors in People The school’s greatest asset is its staff; governors and the Senior Management Team are committed to supporting fully both teachers and non teachers. This includes meeting their personal and professional development needs. Wadham has achieved Investor in People status, the nationally recognised standard for training and development. We believe this has brought a guarantee of quality not only to training and development but also to many management processes. Review and Development (Somerset’s name for Appraisal) is in place at Wadham for teaching and support staff. It is seen as a professional entitlement which is non-threatening and intended to benefit reviewees. ‘Supported Team Reviews’ are also in place to further ‘School improvement’. Top Organisational Structure The School is organised on a Year system with each Year having a Head and Deputy. There is also a House system, for competitive purposes. Each year is subdivided into 7 tutor groups and all students are allocated to one of four Houses. As befits a lively and forward looking school, the management structure changes to meet the developing needs of education. At present the Senior Management Team consists of the Head, two Deputy Headteachers, two Assistant Headteachers, the Business Manager, and the Office Manager. In addition to the Policy Review Committee and regular full Staff Meetings, the School’s other main committees are Staff Development, LRC and ICT, Assessment Recording and Reporting Group, Curriculum and Behaviour Management . These meetings are open to all staff and there are regular meetings of department and year teams. “Task teams” are set up as and when the need arises. Top Links with Middle Schools Wadham School receives students from two Middle Schools (9-13), Maiden Beech in Crewkerne and Swanmead in Ilminster. Close links are maintained with these schools, members of the senior management teams of the three schools meeting regularly and departments maintaining constant liaison through INSET, by visits to each other’s schools and by formal meetings. From time to time the three schools hold joint INSET days. (There is also very close collaboration with other schools in the area particularly in the field of professional development courses etc for staff.) In addition to this, the Deputy Heads and pastoral staff from the upper school visit the middle school students during the summer before transfer, as does the Headteacher. The students themselves and their parents are invited to Wadham School to see round the buildings and to meet staff. All these arrangements have been very successful in ensuring that students transferring schools have a trouble-free transition. There are nine First Schools (5-9) from where students eventually come on to Wadham School, six servicing Maiden Beech and three Swanmead. There are many informal contacts (eg Sixth Formers helping teachers in First School classrooms, Year 10 Work Experience students spending a week in such schools, visits by the Drama Department to give performances etc.) Top Links with Parents Wadham School has always enjoyed considerable support from parents through individual contacts and through parents evenings. There are also Parents Councils in each Year Group and these meet regularly with the Head of Year and a member of the Senior Management Team. Top Adult Learning & Leisure Wadham School was one of the first schools in Somerset to be designated as a Community School. In practice it has been a Community School for over twenty years, having started by building on a programme of evening, weekend and day time community classes to reach its present situation. Today the school has a philosophy of believing that, since education is a life-long process, its facilities should be available for use by organisations and individuals, whenever possible. At the same time the interaction between the daily work of the statutory school day and the needs of parents, business, industry and the community at large brings benefits to our 13 - 18 students as well as to the rest of the community. Top Pastoral Arrangements As indicated earlier, the School is based on a Year system with good integration between the pastoral and academic work of the School. Close links are maintained between the School and support services such as the educational psychologist, the social services, the police and medical services. Top Extra Curricular Activities The School has a wide range of activities both sporting and non-sporting at lunch time and after school and there are currently between 70 and 80 students involved in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Each year expeditions and exchange visits are taken to Europe and there are many weekend camping and outdoor pursuits trips. Music and Drama activities have a high profile. Each year during June/July all Year 10 students are out of school for two weeks of Work Experience with local employers while the whole of Year 9 and Year 12 take part in one of various off-timetable activities such as riding and walking on Bodmin Moor, a cycle tour of the Welsh National parks, camping in South Wales, Rock Climbing, Exploring Normandy, Help the Aged, Dry Skiing, Drama and Photography. The Languages Department organises a range of trips and visits to both France and Germany. Sixth Form linguists are encouraged to undertake a work experience placement aborad and we are continuing to develop our links with Crewkerne’s twin town of Igny, Paris. Top Governing Body There are 21 members of the Governing Body including the Headteacher, four LEA appointees, six parent governors, two teacher governors, one staff governor and two co-opted governors. Five of the governors are Foundation governors representing the Diocesan Education Committee and the magistrates. Two evening meetings of the full Governing Body are held each term. Top No-Smoking Policy The governors have introduced a no-smoking policy at Wadham and smoking is not allowed on site during the day. We hope that all appointments will be of colleagues who are able to comply with this policy. Top Last, But Not Least Hopefully this information has been useful and made you feel that Wadham is a School in which you would like to work. In the meantime we look forward very much to receiving your application. Please do not hesistate in contacting us if you require further help. Details can be found on our contact page. Top		Jump to a Section: Aims Site, Buildings and Facilities Staff and Investors in People Organisational Structure Links with Middle Schools Links with Parents Adult Learning & Leisure Pastoral Arrangements Extra Curricular Activites Governing Body No Smoking Policy Last, but not least
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