Message from the new Head of School

I am extremely proud and excited to have been given the opportunity to lead Kirk Hallam Academy. (Whole School - 15/05/2020)

This change in headship comes at a great time for the school as we look to build upon the work that Mr Watts has done since he arrived at the school in 2018. Having joined the school in January, I already feel as though I have developed an understanding of what needs to be done to move the school into the next phase of its improvement journey.

Every encounter I have had—be it parent, carer or child—has reinforced my belief that this community deserves an excellent school. I want to build upon the strengths that exist to ensure that, together, we can deliver a high quality provision.

This journey is one that we must make collectively as teachers, students and the wider community if we are to be successful. For my part, I promise to leave no stone unturned in my pursuit of educational excellence for your children and I know that all staff have bought into this vision.

Delivering these improvements will come on a number of fronts:

Creating an excellent culture We will develop a robust behaviour system that is clearly communicated to parents and students. Within this we will work hard to eradicate bullying and ensure that staff and students are kind to each other.

Developing excellent teachers We will develop a strong programme of professional training and development so that every teacher uses every minute of every lesson to improve outcomes for every child.

Ensuring excellent results We need to make sure that everyone gets the results they need to have a choice over their future.

As well as retaining some of the outstanding staff who were already here, I have been fortunate to appoint some outstanding teachers and leaders for the school—many of whom I have worked with at previous schools.

All of this change comes during difficult and unprecedented circumstances. We have designed a number of measures to regain lost learning time and will be unveiling these at the start of June alongside hosting a number of virtual town hall style meetings via YouTube Live-please see our website for more details which will be released shortly.

I look forward to meeting you in the future and in the meantime wish you and your families a healthy and safe passage through this period.

Damian Belshaw
Head of School