School Improvement Approach
We deliver impactful and sustainable school improvement to ensure that every student is educated in a high performing school. This unlocks academic and personal potential and develops great learners and great people.
Our approach to developing high performing schools is grounded in two seminal pieces of research and thought leadership:
- Sustainable improvement in multi-school groups, DfE research report by Professor Toby Greany (2018)
- Knowledge building - School improvement at scale, Confederation of School Trusts (2021)
Windsor Academy Trust School Transformation Model
Our School Transformation Model is adapted from Sir David Carter’s four stage improvement model. It ensures that there is an accurate diagnosis of where each school is in its improvement journey and that there are laser focused, high impact approaches that will accelerate each school forward. It can be applied at a range of levels in the school context: teams, year groups/phases, subjects and whole school.
The school transformation model is aligned with the WAT Way. The four stages of our School Transformation Model are shown below. This sets out the observable features, priorities for improvement, capacity giving and capacity receiving for each stage of the model.
1. Stabilise
Broken and requiring significant improvement. No clear underpinning for the future. Few, if any, aspects of the school are high performing.
2. Build Foundations
Leaders are working to improve many foundational aspects of the school simultaneously. Some aspects of the school are high performing.
3. Grow
Developing over a period of time, becoming greater and many aspects of the school high performing.
4. Synergise
Stakeholders combine powerfully and fluidly to create a consistently high-performing school.
Windsor Academy Trust School Improvement Pyramid
Our School Improvement Pyramid is aligned with the four propositions outlined in the Confederation of School Trusts Knowledge building - School Improvement at Scale. This provides a framework for school improvement and all aspects of the School Improvement Pyramid are grounded in research.
Great People
Underpinning our School Improvement Pyramid are great people, our staff, with high expectations and aspirations. Exemplary teachers who are great at what they teach (the curriculum) and how they teach (pedagogy). Teachers who are research informed and who benefit from exceptional professional learning and talent development.
Diagnosis and Improvement
All school improvement first requires accurate diagnosis so that school improvement strategies are data and evidence informed and laser focused to drive the required impact. The WAT Assessment publication sets out our codified approach to diagnosing where students are in their learning.
Attendance and Engagement
We want all students to be inspired and excited to attend school and to actively and positively engage in school life. Aspire and Prepared for Excellence are two approaches that support strong attendance and engagement.
Curriculum
The WAT curriculum ‘exists to change the student, to give the student new power’ (Christine Counsell). The WAT curriculum equips students with the OECD Learning Compass 2030 consisting of knowledge - threshold concepts; skills - learning skills and strategies that lead to self regulation as well as subject domain skills and life skills; values and attitudes - character virtues.
Teaching and Learning Sunshine Model
