To encourage and develop relationships between home, parish, school and the wider community in order to prepare our pupils to become responsible, caring citizens.

Communications and Relationships

To develop an effective system of communications and relationships which is based on the Gospel values of mutual respect, tolerance, care and understanding towards all members of the school community. Individual Support and Development

To celebrate the unique nature of each person and to encourage their development as individuals. Curriculum

To introduce all pupils to a broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated curriculum and to equip pupils with the necessary knowledge, skills and Christian values required in a rapidly changing society. To provide a curriculum for our pupils which develops them academically, spiritually, morally, culturally and physically.

Our AimsIn accordance with our Mission Statement the School’s aims are:

Faith and Worship

To help us to grow spiritually as followers of Christ and as members of a Catholic community: to make prayer, worship and liturgy central to school life.

School and Community

To ensure that all pupils receive their entitlement to a first class education our school recognises that additional provision of support and guidance may be required to further enable some pupils who have particular needs. Our Special Educational Needs Policy is designed to precisely identify and match specific individual needs to appropriate help and support.

The school operates a staged approach to special educational needs in accordance with the Code of Practice document on the identification and assessment of Special Educational Needs as outlined by the Department of Education.

St Ambrose Barlow School fully endorses and adheres to the Government’s Inclusion Development Programme which focuses on supporting, training and empowering staff to identify pupils’ specific needs and support those pupils in the most effective ways in the classroom.

Whilst each pupil is at St Ambrose Barlow School, their progress is carefully monitored through our detailed assessment and reporting procedure and use of tests which can identify special abilities or difficulties.

At St Ambrose Barlow School we have a Learning Support Centre in addition to our Special Educational Needs Department, this is to support pupils on a short term basis who may have particular difficulties which prevent them from accessing the curriculum effectively at certain times throughout their school career. We also offer some alternative qualifications in key stage 4 to pupils who may have difficulties with traditional optional subjects.

If a pupil is identified as requiring additional support, an assessment is made in consultation with parents and all those concerned with that particular pupil’s education. An individual education plan is then devised where targets are set and a review date arranged to ensure that progress is being made. We regard the parental partnership as vital in ensuring that pupils are successful in achieving their targets.

In most circumstances our procedures and support occur in the classroom under the direction of the classroom teacher.

We feel that our experience of tactfully and sensitively responding to a wide range of different pupils’ additional educational requirements has contributed to the educational achievement at St Ambrose Barlow School.

Special Educational Needs Statement

St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

APRIL 29th 2016 Issue 16

A National Teaching SchoolA National School of Creativity

ST AMBROSE BARLOW RC HIGH SCHOOL

open eveningdepartmental information

IMPORTANT DATES & FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Bank Holiday May 2nd

Year 7 Parents’ Evening May 18th

School closes for half-term May 27th

School re-opens June 6th

Year 9 Retreat June 7th - 10th

Year 10 reviews June 13th -15th

Y6 Transition Days June 16th - 20th

Sports Presentation Evening June 16th

Malham Trip June 20th - 24th

New Intake Parents’ Evening June 22nd

Year 11 Prom July 1st

Y7 Conway trip July 4th - 8th

Year 10 Plas Menai July 11th - 15th

School closes July 15th

Celebrating 60 Years of Outstanding Learning

60

I love coming to work here each day.

Often it doesn’t feel like work. We are a Catholic community of faith where it is a privilege to see our young people flourishing, to speak with them, to learn their ways and watch them grow in confidence. They are an inspiration. Every day, every lesson great adventures and stories unfold born out of curiosity, imagination and creativity. Our equally inspiring staff are dedicated to nurturing every young person in their care. They may get outstanding results, but their commitment brings so much more to the education of our students. We believe in doing things differently so that every child can realise their gifts and talents and celebrate who they are. Doing this means that we are bringing to life the Catholic mission and ethos of the school.

There is great spirit and energy in this school. You can see it in the range of extra-curricular activities, in the array of research projects undertaken by staff and in the creativity that flows through our learning. There is also support and care: no-one is left behind, no-one is left out. Visitors often comment on the quiet sense of purpose they find in the school; this comes from outstanding relationships, particularly those between teachers and pupils.

We thrive on connections: with parents and carers, with parishes, with businesses. We love to look out and have give our pupils a global perspective on learning. By doing this our students can see a higher purpose in their learning. It isn’t just about passing exams, getting a job or going to university. It is about pursuing passions, developing new skills and building character so that life after school can be rich and fulfilling lived in the service of others. Our pupils go out into the world with the capacity to contribute, to lead and to play their part in the community with joy and hope. The greatest measure of our success is seeing students who have the capacity to take charge of their future (at a time when the world is changing faster than ever), to be curious, make change and be comfortable in their own skin. As a parent myself I hope for the same for my own children.

If you like the sound of this, please come and see us. Everyone is welcome here. I look forward to meeting you and saying, ‘This is Ambrose...’

Ben Davis

Headteacher

Celebrating 60 Years of Outstanding Learning

1955 - 2015

School Day Consultation Please note that the consultation is now closed and the Governors will meet shortly to consider all submissions and reach a determination.

DevoManc Politics Project A group of Year 9 pupils who have been working with the Politics Project recently attended a day-long event at the People’s Museum in Salford. Here they explored the issues around greater devolution in Manchester and took part in debates about some of the important contemporary matters faced by young people.

Passover We enjoyed an excellent week of assemblies led by different forms on the theme of Passover.

Each form had clearly spent a considerable amount of time preparing for the mornings and we were treated to cartoons, displays, powerpoints and the spoken word. Each assembly presented a great understanding of the history and meaning of this important Jewish feast.

Year 8 Parents’ Evening A big thank you to all who attended the evening and were so positive in their comments about the work of staff. In due course we will publish the evening’s attendance statistics.

Logan Walters We were delighted to see Year 8 pupil Logan presented with an award by the Mayor of Salford at a ceremony celebrating young people who Do the Right Thing.

Logan was rightly recognised for his contribution to the community within and outside school. Deputy Headteacher Mr Lawford attended for the school.

Y11 Drama Showcase We enjoyed an exceptional evening of Drama on Wednesday as the Year 11 pupils who will shortly be sitting their GCSE exams presented their work themed around Consequences.

The first piece took a hardhitting look at the issue of drinking and its consequences for young drivers; the second adapted the Strindberg play Miss Julie to explore the impact of class and gender on relationships; the final piece, entirely written and devised by the students, explored the consequences of fame through the characters of Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and John Lennon.

The evening was also a mock exam for the students and the visiting assessor was very impressed with the work she saw. Well done to them and their teacher, Mrs Tulloch.

I am Creative Success On Tuesday 26th April 2016 both Year 10 and Year 12 Creative Media students presented their projects, based on the executive bank Coutts , at CHI and Partners in London. After 3 months of working tirelessly on the projects at lunchtime and in their free time both groups presented their ideas with distinction and confidence. Year 10 were awarded the prestigious 'Highly Commended award' from The Ideas Foundation and all students have been entered onto the I am Creative 'Creative ladder'. Both sets of students gained a fantastic experience of presenting to other colleges and school, plus were given feedback from executives from CHI and Partners, Ideas Foundation and Coutts bank. The students who attended were: Year 10 (Freya Davies, Hayden Woodcock, Robert Lord, Jacob Farr); Year 12 (Alex Jackson, Maisie Tunnacliffe, Cody Lee).

Former pupil success Harry Warburton who left three years ago has ben chosen to represent England Youth RFL in the under 18/19s team at the up and coming games against Ireland, Scotland and Wales during the coming months. Harry has continued to play rugby at Folly Lane and is in his second season playing for the open age team. He is looking to do a geography degree at Loughborough university, where he will be able to continue his sport as well.

Year 11 Francis House Trip The Health and Social Care visit to Francis House went very well. The year 11 girls were brilliant. They asked great questions and seemed to get a lot out of the experience. The staff commented that they were a credit to the school. They are: Teigan Martin, Freya Kelly, Leah Calderwood, Sinead Feeney, Betha Nigabu, Kerryann Elliot, Britney Irving, Elle Pitfield, Alex Halstead-Hughes, Catherine Parkes, Nadia Lye, Emily Naylor.

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK the victorious year 9 football team with their salford trophy; the year 9 assembly team

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK the year 10 football team with the salford plate hard-won from walkden 5-1 last week; rylan mann of year 9 with his nhs certificate

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK the highly commended year 10 i am creative team with their certificates at coutts (top) and below at weekly assembly.

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK at the devomanc event in the people’s museum; logan walters receiving his award from the mayor.