Welcome and Vision

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing to you to introduce myself as the Headteacher of Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy, as of September 2022. I look forward to getting to know you as we work in partnership to ensure that your child thrives and flourishes in all areas of life.

I have a very clear vision for Saint Edmund Arrowsmith. Put simply, it is to become the number one school of choice in the local area. It will be a school characterised first and foremost by our faith and strength of our Catholic community.

We will be recognised for having an exceptional curriculum that provides pupils with powerful academic knowledge and the character development they need to really 'Live life to the full'. Our curriculum is as good as in any other school, be that comprehensive or grammar.

Our teaching will be known to be consistently excellent in every classroom. Our teachers are supported to become more evidence informed practitioners, so they have the most impact on our pupils in the limited time we have. Saint Edmund Arrowsmith will be an over-subscribed school that pupils enjoy coming to, and a school of which they feel fiercely proud of.

Our young people connect deeply with their faith and are courageous in championing the common good out in the local community. They do this by living out, each day, our values of Love, Inspiration, Empowerment and Joy with both energy and passion. This will become automatic to them, as we explicitly teach and model out our values, every single day, to support them in becoming modern day faithful Disciples of Christ. Our faith is in the living and carried forward by the young people we serve.

Our school is calm, orderly, welcoming and our pupils are polite. It is a school where children leave the stresses and difficulties of the outside world at the gate. My vision is of an exceptional school, fuelled by high aspirations for all, academic excellence, and exemplary behaviour (which I will insist on for all pupils), but where alongside the firm discipline, there is a strong culture of care, encouragement, and reward.

As well as achieving the highest qualifications they can, I want our pupils to fulfil all their potential: mind, body, soul, not just academically. I want them to be gifted opportunities and experiences that set their curiosity of the world on fire. I want them to leave school as well-rounded, confident, well-adjusted young people, with an awareness of the wider world and a desire and ambition to make a positive difference in it.

Saint Edmund Arrowsmith has at its core, excellent teaching, lessons that pupils go home and talk about, excitedly, and can't wait to come to school the next day, because school is interesting, challenging and where they are held to a higher regard. We will build on that innate enthusiasm and motivation children have as they leave Year 6, and be absolutely determined there will be no dip, but rather a heightened sense of excitement about learning.

Finally, our school is an inclusive one, welcoming children of all abilities and backgrounds. Where children with SEND and Disadvantaged backgrounds are supported to reach those same lofty, ambitious outcomes and standards. A school where our entire community (pupils, staff, parents, and carers) flourish.

I look forward to welcoming your children into our caring and calm school community.

Kindest regards,

Mrs C. McKenna
Acting Headteacher