A local school for everyone

We want an excellent local school for everyone in North Kirklees, no matter where you live. We want to make the most of this major investment by redeveloping carefully chosen existing sites.

A greater choice of subjects and courses

We know that young people want a wider choice of learning options to motivate them and develop their talents, interests and aspirations.

By 2013 all students aged 14 to19 will have access to 17 vocational diplomas and a new programme of apprenticeships.

Larger secondary schools are required to deliver this wider range of academic and vocational subjects and courses.

Support and care

We will learn from our successful larger schools that have within them smaller support and care groups for every child, such as ‘houses’ or ‘families’. These approaches will continue to help children feel safe and secure.

In addition every child will receive personalised learning opportunities to help them reach their own potential.

Dewsbury Academy

Standards in the Dewsbury area are an ongoing challenge for all of us. We believe an Academy will give us freedom to invest in new ideas in teaching and learning, providing a major opportunity to raise achievement.

We will be a co-partner of this academy and will look for education partners to work with us.

Co-education

We are committed to co-educational schools. These centres for learning will follow best practice for educating boys and girls together promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development that young people need in life.
We want all parents to be able to choose a local school, and in earlier consultations co-education was the preferred
choice for the majority of parents.

Faith

Faith is an important consideration for some parents when selecting a school. We will work with the Church of England to ensure it continues to play an important role in North Kirklees.

We will work with the Diocese of Leeds to ensure it continues to play an important role in meeting the demand for Catholic school places in North Kirklees. This will include the refurbishment of St John Fisher Catholic High School.

We will continue to work with Savile Town Muslim Parents Association (STMPA) who are the trustees for Madni independent Muslim Girls School.

We want all parents to be able to choose a local school, and in earlier consultations co-education was the preferred choice for the majority of parents

Sixth forms

We want all our young people to stay and succeed in education or training post 16 and take advantage of our growing local economy. We also want to create a new organisation - a trust - with the university, further education colleges and schools. By working together we can make it easier for young people post 14 to make their choices and continue their education locally.

We will build on existing excellence and consolidate the sixth forms on two sites, to get the best teaching and facilities for all.

Middle schools

In the Whitcliffe Mount area we are moving to the mainstream system of primary and secondary schools so that children only have to move schools once at the age of 11.

Parents have already been consulted and the majority preferred these changes.

We want to create primary schools for 5 to 11 year olds in this area as we recommend that it is the best way to teach key stages 2 and 3 and will lead to the achievement of high standards.

Bringing people together

We want schools to become centres for learning at the heart of their community.

They will promote a sense of belonging so that the diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances are appreciated and supported.

We want every child and family to have access to a school in their locality which is a focus for local services including parenting support, adult education, healthcare and extended school services, delivered in partnership with local providers, and relevant to local needs.

Including every child and young person

Students with special and additional needs will continue to be given the opportunity to go to mainstream schools. We will continue to provide and improve specialised support and education for those who need it.

Green and bright spaces

Natural lighting, ventilation, good acoustics, insulation and flexible spaces will be central to creating stimulating learning environments that can be used by all. We will also develop the best possible outdoor spaces for sports, games and environmental activities.

We have set high standards to reduce our carbon footprint. Buildings will have CO2 emissions at least 30% lower than today.

We will work with everyone to get the design of facilities right for each area.

Technology to transform

The latest technology will allow students to have more control over when, where and how they learn.

Technology will help us support a wider range of learning styles, provide more subject choices and remove some of the barriers to learning for those with special educational needs.

Leadership

One of the biggest differences we can make to the success of our schools is through strong, effective leadership. We will invest in the leadership skills of our existing teachers and headteachers.

We want to see schools working closer together than ever before sharing best practice. We want to explore new ways of working together such as ‘federations’ or ‘trusts’.

We are committed to working with governing bodies and supporting their leadership role in schools and communities.