Supporting every child to achieve their dreams
Intensive training to bring teachers up to date on the latest ideas, resources and statutory requirements in their subjects is now paying dividends for the Luton school.
Excellent curriculum provision has been recognised by national awards such as Artsmark Silver, Primary Science Silver, the Gold PE Quality Mark and a Music Mark.
The Linden Academy has been serving the south Luton community since it moved to its new site in Osborne Road in 2016.
“The school is a very different place now,” says Bex Howe, Director of Primary Education at The Shared Learning Trust, which runs the academy. “An experienced, highly qualified leadership team has been extended over the past two years to adapt to the changing demographics of the school.”
Michelle Woodhams, Head of School since April 2019, says: “The Linden Academy has evolved to become a school that serves its community. We put children at the heart of everything we do, providing them with what they need socially, emotionally and academically.
“Classroom staff are experienced, innovative and enjoy learning with the children. We are confident that when OFSTED comes in again we will get that ‘Good’ rating.”
In the past 18 months the progress and attainment of pupils against national benchmarks has been the highest since 2015.
Early Years Foundation Stage progress remains among the highest in Luton, while Year 2 has seen a dramatic 28 per cent increase over the past five years in reading, writing and maths.
The focus on reading over the past 18 months has been really strong. Year 6 reading attainment in June 2020 enjoyed an improvement of 20 per cent over the previous year and was up 32 per cent on 2015.
“The improvement in our outcomes is really important because it shows the direction of travel since the previous OFSTED inspection in 2018,” says Michelle. “I think it is really important to show that standards are high.
“We have changed the curriculum considerably to meet the needs of our pupils.
“We now have very strong middle leaders, many of whom are specialist leaders in education, and who lead courses, training and support across Luton, Central Beds and Milton Keynes. Pupils enjoy their lessons.
“They find them fun and interesting and appreciate the opportunity to independently learn and work with their peers.
“We are supporting every child to achieve their dreams.”
‘Outstanding’ Early Years provision recognised
“Outstanding provision delivered by outstanding staff” – that’s what an external review had to say about the Early Years provision at The Linden Academy.
“We were awarded the Early Years Quality Mark last year,” says Sumaira Nawaz (Deputy Headteacher for EYFS and Key Stage 1).
“We will be opening a new pre-school in January 2021.
“It will give parents and children the chance to enjoy the transition into school life slowly.
“Pupils will have the opportunity to benefit from the facilities, the uniform and the exciting curriculum and learning.
“Parents will get to know the Early Years team, senior leaders and key personnel, including teachers, family support workers, special educational needs coordinators and the EAL lead practitioner.”
Strive, Achieve, Believe runs through the veins of everyone at the academy
Strive, Achieve, Believe – that’s the vision of The Shared Learning Trust.
And it runs through the veins of everything the organisation does, including its exciting curriculum at The Linden Academy.
“We encourage pupils to take on challenges both in their lessons and also through our student leadership programme, which includes sports leaders,” says Jermaine Burroughs (Deputy Headteacher for Behaviour and Well-being).
“And we are just in the process of setting up a pupil parliament across the primary schools. There are opportunities for children to lead in many areas, so we have worked with the Anne Frank Trust, and we have child ambassadors who support and work with others on things such as restorative justice, tolerance and racial equality.”
The Linden Academy has recently reviewed the curriculum being provided to the children ensuring all members of the school community feel included, encouraged and motivated.
Recently, the whole school have been focusing on Black History month looking at the slave trade and how this has impacted modern day life.
Some excellent discussions and learning opportunities have arisen from this. Moving forward, The Linden Academy will ensure that the history of all cultures, including BAME, will be covered throughout the year rather than just October. Teaching and learning opportunities will be embedded through all areas of the curriculum.
“Our curriculum focuses on a wide range of subjects children enjoy as well as focusing on reading, writing and maths. We aim to make the learning as cross curricular as we can. For example, as we study Black History month, we are also exploring the arts and music of the different cultures and countries,” says Kerry Ward (Deputy Headteacher of Key Stage 2 and Inclusion).
“We have a strong MFL (Modern Foreign Language) programme, not only within the school but also across the Trust – so the children also get the chance to explore a range of languages. In addition to this we have an excellent arts and sports programme.
“This may look a little different this year because of Covid. However, children will still have the opportunity to explore their passions and excel in these subjects.”
“At The Linden Academy, pupils will feel safe in school and will know that they are at the heart of everything we do,” says Michelle Woodhams. “They are the motivation and the driver for the decisions that we have made, and the decisions that we will make.”
To discover more, visit linden.thesharedlearningtrust.org.uk