Shoreham Academy serves the families and community of Southwick and Shoreham. Established in 2009, our goal has always been to provide the best secondary school experience for young people in our area. Built around the core values of hard work, excellence, integrity and high standards, we strive to enable our children to realise their full potential and achieve their most ambitious goals. As a proud member of United Learning Trust, we shape our approach around the ‘Framework for Excellence’, focusing on the following fundamental priorities:

The Best in Everyone

Shoreham Academy is characterised by having the very highest expectations in all areas to bring out the best in everyone. Every child is special and capable of extraordinary things. Their limitless potential flourishes in a culture of hard work and kindness. Every adult working at Shoreham Academy acts with the utmost respect, care, and professionalism – the highest standards come with the greatest attention to the wellbeing of all. As a community we challenge and support each other to be the best version of ourselves.

These expectations are exemplified by disruption-free classrooms, caring personal interactions and a leading-edge ‘Shoreham Academy Experience’ character education programme. A culture of fairness and trust is underpinned by centralised systems and routines supporting best behaviour and celebrating success. Staff are present and visible, warmly modelling the behaviours we expect of our children.

We expect our children to complete homework and independent study throughout their school life. Habits of revision and application of knowledge are developed throughout the school year, culminating in formal assessments at the end of each year for each subject studied within the curriculum. Children’s academic progress and achievement is of the highest priority throughout their seven-year journey with us, providing our students with deep and connected knowledge and understanding to support their future lives.

Shoreham Academy serves the families and community of Southwick and Shoreham. Established in 2009, our goal has always been to provide the best secondary school experience for young people in our area. Built around the core values of hard work, excellence, integrity and high standards, we strive to enable our children to realise their full potential and achieve their most ambitious goals. As a proud member of United Learning Trust, we shape our approach around the ‘Framework for Excellence’, focusing on the following fundamental priorities:

Powerful Knowledge

Through our curriculum we empower students to understand and shape the world around them. Whatever their starting point, we ensure that every child is taken beyond their immediate experience. We do this by delivering a broad and ambitious curriculum, carefully sequenced and skillfully taught. Our common curriculum covers English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, RE, French, Spanish, Music, Drama, Sport, Art, Technology and PSHE. In each subject the curriculum provides a coherent programme of study which develops knowledge and skills term by term and year by year, from key stage 3 through to sixth form.  Teachers work with colleagues across the United Learning group of schools to plan the best lessons which can then be refined to meet the specific needs of classes and individuals.

We support effective teaching by exploiting technologies which enhance, deepen, and accelerate its key processes, such as modelling, assessment, and explanation. These enhancements extend to students’ homes, with exposure to our curriculum afforded beyond the confines of the school day/ building via      access to devices, connectivity, expert-led recorded lessons, and adaptive software – all of which bring together carefully linked learning content and tools.

Our curriculum is based on our understanding that each subject area has some fundamental facts and processes that, if committed to long-term memory and application, aid problem-solving and underpins future success, in work but also in day to day living. We gradually develop this long-term memory in each subject by building understanding over time, giving frequent opportunities to return to prior knowledge and apply it in new contexts.

Literacy, oracy and the mastery of language is a continuing priority at Shoreham Academy. We believe that no child should be left behind or disadvantaged in their literacy development. Mentors read with their form group three times a week, exposing all students to challenging, thought-provoking books, and to thousands of words a week that they may otherwise not encounter.

Education with Character

We value an education in which development of character is as important as academic success. We want our children to look back on their schooling as a time of enjoyment and happiness which has inspired and challenged them in equal measure and prepared them for the ups and downs of life.

Our ‘Shoreham Academy Experience’ programme is fundamental to every student’s journey in the school; they are challenged to fulfil a range of pledges, building from bronze to platinum experiences during their journey. We emphasise links with the community and opportunities for voluntary activities. Destinations are as much a part of the ‘outcomes’ we seek for our students as exam grades. Students are supported with a full and wide-ranging careers advice and guidance programme, which begins in Year 7, includes full access to one-to-one careers advice for all students and extends to work experience opportunities tailored to the aspirations that our students have.

Music, Sport, and the Arts are key components of our wider curriculum at Shoreham. Students have ongoing opportunities to participate, develop, enjoy, perform and compete. Our students develop outstanding team working skills together, celebrating and growing together. Sport and the arts enable young people to explore other worlds, to test their own physical capacity, resilience, and endurance, to achieve things they did not believe themselves capable of achieving.

Continuous Improvement

However good we are, we can always be better, and we do this by working hard, supporting each other and growing together. As a school we constantly strive to be better and endeavour to always to give our children the best possible opportunities.

As a United Learning school, we are fortunate to be part of one of the largest and most successful Trusts in the country. This means that we have access to the best resources and some of the best experts in different educational fields. By working together, we help one another to continuously improve, offering the best education and the best opportunities to our children.

We ask all of our students, parents and staff to complete regular surveys to find out what is on people’s minds and take steps to address issues identified. This is really important because we are a community and everyone within it should have a say in how we move forward. We seek to maintain a culture of openness in which our children are able to raise ideas and concerns and feel heard.  We always seek to work with integrity and honesty in addressing any issues that require resolution.

Leadership in Every Role

Every adult in our school is a leader. In every word, tone, and gesture, they set the direction and expectation. We expect every adult to take responsibility and the initiative to do what is right for the students, creating a climate and culture in which children can grow. All leaders listen, grow relationships, act with integrity and care and expect the best from themselves and others in building a successful, happy, and confident school.

A fundamental aspect of this responsibility concerns enabling our children to always feel safe. We work with urgency and consistency to rapidly address instances in which a student may feel vulnerable, working with a range of agencies to proactively support children and families.

Our adults role model to our children the best characteristics of leadership, so that they can understand how they might lead themselves. Throughout their time at Shoreham Academy, children have opportunities to experience leadership, growing in confidence in the process. Opportunities within and beyond the classroom sit across the range of subjects as well as wider roles in representation and support of peers. Students have opportunities for leadership accreditation in recognition of their learning and commitment.

We are united as a community in our drive to be the best place to learn and the best place to teach.

We make every effort to ensure our Year 7 students feel comfortable and supported from their very first day. To give students a better idea of what to expect when they join the academy, we hold  Year 6 Taster Days,  Year 7 Induction Days and Summer Camps for new starters.

Building effective relationships is key; our “Schools within Schools” system ensures every student is known and valued for what they can achieve.  Each School has its own Pastoral Team headed up by members of the Leadership Team and two non-teaching Pastoral Managers.

Schools are made up of mentor groups that contain approximately 30 students. Our mentor groups are organised horizontally in order to provide a mentor time programme that can support the particular needs of year groups around progress, resilience and wellbeing.

The aim of our School system is to provide a safe environment where mentors can really get to know their students. Mentor time in Key Stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9) has a real focus on literacy and learning skills. In Key Stage 4 (years 10 and 11) the focus has a greater emphasis on careers and the skills required for success in GCSE.

Across all years we seek to support students’ wellbeing and mental health. Our young people face increased pressures both in and out of school and the mentor programme, in conjunction with our PSHE curriculum, is designed to support them with this. Within this programme, we retain some “Vertical” mentoring with older peers supporting younger ones.

The introduction of the Kingston cup in 2016, in which our schools compete across a wide range of academic and extra-curricular activities throughout the year, ensures that all student efforts and endeavours are recognised, providing healthy competition and collaboration for all students.

Teaching and learning at the academy is excellent. Besides external measures, including Ofsted, outcomes for students in all key stages are consistently above benchmarks. Shoreham Academy is a strategic partner in the United Learning Teaching School Alliance with responsibility for training new teachers as a regional hub. Best practice is developed and shared within and beyond the academy, with students benefitting from expertise, innovation and passion from our subject teachers.

Students at the academy have lessons in the full range of National Curriculum subjects at KS3.  Their learning is rich in knowledge and experience providing an excellent foundation for future study and for their future life.  They begin GCSEs in year 10 and typically achieve significantly in excess of initial expectations.  Their success enables our children to attend the best universities, access fantastic degree apprenticeships and go on to lead rewarding and happy lives.  They remain part of our school family for life, supporting the next generation as alumni.