Equality and inclusion are at the heart of what we do. We treat our students, staff and visitors with dignity and respect, and we serve our community with courtesy, understanding and fairness. We ensure easy access for those with disabilities and people from other minority groups. We challenge discrimination and inequality at every opportunity and to promote fair and equal treatment for everyone. We see all learners and potential learners as of equal value.

Shared vision is a fundamental feature of our success. The Academy’s culture is one in which change is embraced and calculated risks are the norm. Parents and carers are encouraged to use their voice to influence decision-making, and compliments, comments, suggestions and complaints are always welcomed. We welcome volunteers and encourage members of the community to get involved with Academy life.

We believe in working towards a community in which there is a common vision and sense of belonging, where the diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and valued; a society in which similar life opportunities are available to all, where strong and positive relationships exist and continue to be developed.

We are working towards the Rights Respecting School Award, which provides a coherent values framework to shape the ethos of the Academy and incorporates the global dimension, SEAL (social and emotional aspects of learning), sustainable development, and community cohesion. Through the Rights Respecting School Award, our students are developing a stronger sense of the equality issues and the need to act for global justice.

We ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexuality or disability. Through Citizenship, Religious Studies and Global Studies we actively strive to develop future citizens of the world and we have developed an exciting international link with the Beijing Space Middle School.

Gifted and Talented Students

We facilitate and are proactive in encouraging our gifted and talented students to have ownership of their learning within school and within our community. We work to provide enhancement and enrichment through a broad and balanced curriculum. We offer opportunities for students to excel in areas of learning by giving them ownership of their school and valuing their achievements

Students First

We work hard to make all areas of the curriculum accessible to every student, whatever their ability. Work is differentiated where necessary to enable all students to achieve success and to stretch and encourage the more able to reach their maximum potential.

We support students’ learning within classroom settings, using specialist staff to guide and advise staff on how to prepare for and support learners with specific and complex needs; we also offer specialised and personalised provision to meet a range of learners’ needs, academically and emotionally.

Our Students First philosophy is dedicated to ensuring the engagement of vulnerable students, including those with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities. We prepare student profiles for any students with serious illness or disability, working with the students and family to ensure needs are met and parents’ views taken into consideration. We also work closely with the Minority Ethnic Team to support students from different ethnic minorities and those with English as an additional language.

Our Spectrum Suite provides a “safe” place for students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and their families, and we have Learning Support Assistants who are specialists in supporting students with ASD.

Customer Services staff are available all day for students with medical conditions.

Get Connected

We believe that parents need to know and influence how we work. Parents of students who are new to Kingswood have a home-visit and are invited to a series of “Get Connected” sessions covering the basics of school life, including the curriculum, safety, rewards and attendance. These sessions are informal and often jointly delivered by our students.

Customer Services

Our Customer Services team provides a single point of contact, where parents can access all the information, advice, guidance and support they need.

Customer Services is available via our Community Reception in the Learning Centre, so parents and carers don’t have to worry about going into the main school, and there will always be a friendly face there to give people the time they need.

Customer Services staff work closely with other Academy staff, including the Wellbeing Team, to ensure that we are all working in partnership to improve outcomes for our students.

Parent Consultation Evenings

We have listened over the past few years to parents and carers who find the traditional model of parents’ evenings difficult to attend due to work commitments. Parent consultation evenings are traditionally held at the end of a busy school day and students are given ten minute slots with staff before they move onto the next appointment. This sometimes means that students and parents can’t see the staff they need to or are left waiting.

We want to ensure that we engage with all parents in a meaningful way so we have introduced annual Academic Progress Days, when students and their families are invited into school for an in-depth meeting about academic progress across all subjects, which will include student self evaluation and target setting.

The days run from 7.45am until late so we hope that all parents are able to find a suitable time slot to attend.

Communication

We use the Research Machines Learning Platform as our on-line reporting system. All parents have a user name and password, which allow them to access live data about their child’s progress, attendance and behaviour.

Parental involvement in learning is crucial and we offer support for parents and families, as well as signposting to other providers. Parents who want to volunteer to help in class are more than welcome and we have a comprehensive support package for volunteers.

Our website is comprehensive and is continually updated. It includes a documents store, calendar section and news section. A regular Students First newsletter is also issued to all parents.

Keep Kids Safe is a texting service that is used to alert parents when children have not been registered. it also allows the Academy to provide specific and generic information via text.

We provide regular reports on student progress.  

Partners

We have excellent primary schools links and engage with colleagues in our partner primaries to ensure effective transition and a common approach. We have enjoyed some real successes, such as our Year 5 BSF day, various CPA projects, the transition youth club and our E-Safety work.

We work with a number of non-school partners, including Hull College, Hull University and Wilberforce College, community groups, the Primary Care Trust, the Youth Service and Police.