We pride ourselves on excellent results, calm classrooms, high standards and warm relationships at Haybridge; this, along with the strong moral compass that our staff and students possess, is what makes Haybridge a unique and special place.

Haybridge is a caring school with high academic standards where we build character through our values of ambition, creativity, commitment and integrity.

Our school values underpin everything we do. In our community at Haybridge we show:

Ambition by having a growth mindset;

Creativity by thinking outside the box;

Commitment by showing up physically and mentally;

Integrity by doing the right thing.

We create a culture where learning, doing the right thing and taking pride in success is the norm.

Our approaches to teaching and behaviour at Haybridge are driven by research. Our classrooms are environments which allow students to develop excellent learning habits. We are clear about our expectations of students and support them to meet these with kindness and warmth. As a result, at Haybridge, all teachers can teach so that all students can learn.

We have high expectations of students; this is because we care about them. We strongly believe that every child can meet our expectations and that allowing them to make excuses for not doing so is failing them and doing them a great disservice. This is why we uphold these expectations every day with every student with kindness, compassion, and care.

We are proud that our students leave us well qualified and well prepared for their next steps. But we also know that an education is so much more than just a set of qualifications and a school is so much more than just an exam-factory. Haybridge is a special place where we strive for every child to feel a sense of belonging, to discover their passion, and to create amazing memories that they will carry with them into their adult life.

Our curriculum allows students to succeed academically and our enrichment and extracurricular offer through the ‘Character Academy’ gives them the confidence and resilience to be good people with a strong moral compass that will guide them through their future. At Haybridge, being academic doesn’t mean being clever; people often get the two confused. Being academic means valuing education. Regardless of background or ability, valuing education makes you work hard and this is what our students do. As a result, students at Haybridge achieve extremely well; they get the grades they deserve because they value what we offer them.

Our ‘Character Academy’ includes a wide range of sports, extensive musical groups and clubs such as Gardening Club, Eco Club, Lego Robotics and Warhammer… there really is something for everyone! All students are part of a House and compete throughout the year for the House Cup, winning House Points and engaging in a wide range of House Events. Students are encouraged to get involved in the wider life of the school and are proud to belong to our school community.

Ofsted describes Haybridge as a school with ‘high academic achievement, respectful behaviour and positive, caring relationships’ where ‘pupils are a delight’ (September 2022). We are immensely proud of this and of the reputation that we have built up over many years.

Charlotte Mondon-Lines

Headteacher

At Haybridge we live and breathe our values – they are embedded into everything we do and are a part of who we are as members of the community at Haybridge. The Haybridge community is made up of students, staff, parents/carers and the Governors. We all aim to embody the values of our school as we believe this will make us all successful but most importantly will ensure that our community is a safe and happy place where positive relationships allow you to thrive.

Throughout the year we teach students how to show the school values in all aspects of life, which we believe will help them to become well-rounded individuals who are kind and who have high expectations of themselves. We believe that every student is capable of achieving the very best and that they can be kind to everybody in the community. Our mantra at Haybridge is that ‘we have high expectations of you because we care about you’; this is why we have a warm/strict approach in our school where we aim to build positive relationships, but we also ask students to take responsibility for their actions. We do these things because we care about students and their futures.

“…we have high expectations

of you because we care about you.”

AMBITION

We are ambitious for ourselves and our students. We set high expectations and standards and strive to achieve excellence in all that we do. We are unashamedly ambitious for the students we serve. We want to provide access to opportunities within the classroom and beyond. We will continue to strive to be the best we can be.

COMMITMENT

We are committed to being the best we can be. We consistently deliver on expectations, go the extra mile to get the job done and give 100% in all that we do, approaching everything with a “can do attitude”. We constantly look to improve ourselves and our service, cultivating our knowledge, skill, and attitudes to achieve excellence.

CREATIVITY

We always seek innovative solutions for our students so that they achieve everything they are capable of. We believe that creativity is only truly possible when it is based on a bedrock of knowledge. We cultivate creativity by providing a broad base of academic knowledge that students need to be properly creative. The knowledge we deliver is powerful in that it changes students’ perceptions, values and understanding. It encourages students to ask new questions and explore alternative explanations.

INTEGRITY

We always do the right thing. We treat others with respect and honesty, take care of our environment and utilise knowledge and understanding wisely. We nurture our students so that they become young adults of principle and character who support each other in their quest for excellence.

How we show these values together as a community?

How do we show ambition? We have a growth mindset

How do we show commitment? We show up, both physically and mentally

How do we show creativity? We think outside the box

How do we show integrity? We do the right thing

A key part of our Trust Dividend is that we are kind and driven, because these two qualities are not incompatible. We believe that happy, well-motivated and well-trained staff make the most effective teachers, leaders and support staff and, in turn, ensure excellence and opportunity for all. As our jobs are demanding, we strive to remove barriers and find ways to make life easier. From high-quality professional development to ensuring that there is an opportunity for a break and a cup of tea, caring for and investing in our staff is a high priority to ensure that they enjoy their time at work and thrive professionally.

We also recognise that working more flexibly can help our staff achieve a better work-life balance, as work is just one aspect of our lives and balancing our home lives can be difficult at times. To do this, we value our family-friendly policies and constantly review and evaluate our thinking to best accommodate our staff where it is possible to do so.

At The Four Stones Gateway, our staff have extensive access to an excellent package of benefits, including access to Teachers’ Pensions or Local Government Pension Scheme, the Employee Assistance Programme, staff long service recognition, Cycle to Work Scheme, Lifestyle Discount schemes and a free annual flu jab.

We have several established practices that make our Trust an excellent place to work, including:

• A strong commitment to professional development and growth: we offer access to recognised, accredited training and leadership courses such as the National Professional Qualifications
• Opportunities for promotion: we focus on growing and developing our staff through succession planning and by providing opportunities for promotion from within our schools
• Designated buddies: we ensure that staff always have someone to work alongside in order to soundboard, discuss ideas and solutions, have their thinking challenged and to challenge the thinking of others
• Ringfenced mock-marking time: each December, we have a Trust-wide TED which gives teaching teams dedicated time to the marking and moderation of Year 11 mock examinations
• A work-life balance: we do not expect our staff to answer out of hours emails and we discourage the use of personal mobile phones to retrieve and respond to emails
• Admin support: we lighten the load of our middle leaders by providing admin support throughout the year so that they can focus their time and energy on strategy and the biggest levers to develop practice
• Ringfenced time: our school teaching leaders have a reduced teaching load to ensure that they are highly visible and have maximum impact in supporting staff and achieving excellence for our students
• A focus on wellbeing: in each of our schools, a member of the senior leadership team is in charge of wellbeing and workload to evaluate our practices and provide essential support to all staff
• Refreshments: on training days, parents’ evenings and other evening events, food is always provided