Month: July 2018

Sponsored by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

We were delighted to learn that Heathfield Academy was declared as Winner of Building Project of the Year 2018!

After spending two years in temporary accommodation, the staff and children at Heathfield are proud of their permanent home.  A brand new building, which was redesigned by Willmott Dixon, was completed within 49 weeks; delivering a ‘life-changing’ environment for pupils and the staff.

Although there were many challenges, the team worked together to achieve a high quality finish throughout the building.  The judges remarked: “The management team was excellent – motivated and engaged.  They really cared about what they were working towards and fully invested in achieving their goals.”

Collaboration and good communication between STEP and Willmott Dixon created a “one team” culture – something that is intrinsic to us – STEP First – we are all one team.

High Cliff, which joined STEP eighteen months ago, was visited by Ofsted in June 2018 and has been judged Outstanding in all areas.  Headteacher, Abby Kilgarriff, was recognised as providing “exceptional leadership and is unwavering in ensuring that staff and pupils achieve the highest possible standards”.

A growing school, High Cliff consists of early years and Key Stage 1 children and the exceptional teaching of phonics was highlighted, ensuring that pupils are encouraged and supported to read widely.  This ensures that they have an excellent start on their journey as learners.  Safeguarding was identified as a strength of High Cliff with pupils feeling safe and happy and motivated and excited to come to school.  STEP’s determination to ensure all pupils learn deeply and widely was also acknowledged:  “They have carefully designed a curriculum which skilfully develops pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding across a wide range of different subjects.”

We are delighted that the support from colleagues across STEP was highlighted:  “STEP Academy Trust has transformed the school since they took over in January 2017. The multi-academy trust (MAT) has worked with urgency and moral purpose to ensure that high-quality learning opportunities are in place for all pupils”.