After a relaxing, and well deserved, 2 week term break we are back at school and fast approaching the end of 2021 school year. The Department for Education conducts an External School Review for each school every three years, we welcomed the review panel at the ASMS in mid-September for three days as they followed several lines of inquiry. Staff, students and parents were able to meet with the panel and provide their perspectives, I thank all those who gave their time for this important process. I would like to share a few extracts from the report with you and invite you to read further when we are able to post the ESR Report on our website later next week.
- The ASMS uses multiple measures (of learner growth) in sophisticated ways to investigate how best to maximise student engagement and achievement.
- Evidence based “teaching approaches” are assessed in terms of the unique context of the school & the extent to which they align with the school’s three core values of “curiosity”, ” agency” & “community”. This synergy between values, curriculum design & “teaching approaches” is demonstrated not only through the focus of professional discussions but also in curriculum documentation.
- “Community” is a core value of the school. Students report feeling safe as the school has intentionally created a safe and inclusive environment characterised by respectful relationships which enables them to focus on their emotional and intellectual energies to engage in challenging learning.
Our Year 12’s will be farewelled at the end of this week. In the tradition of the ASMS we will celebrate their achievements with our school student community assembly then staff will prepare a breakfast for our Year 12’s on their last day of school on Friday. It is a significant milestone for our year 12’s and we wish them well in the final assessment processes. Our Presentation Night is our final opportunity to celebrate with students, I look forward to seeing our year 12’s officially graduate from the ASMS!