Telephone: 01202 876 556
office@fernmid.dorset.sch.uk
Ferndown Middle School
Peter Grant Way Ferndown Dorset BH22 9UP

School Awards

Posted on 08/10/2015

At Ferndown Middle I am proud that we have achieved and been awarded with 3 significant awards. I am delighted with these achievements because they recognise the diverse opportunities that are available to our pupils. The important part of any award is the journey to achieving the standard, and then importantly maintaining and embedding the required standards. At Ferndown Middle School we truly believe in the importance and sincerity in which we have met the standards.

G. Allen
Headteacher

International School Award

Ferndown Middle School has been successful in being re-accredited for the International School Award and is accredited for three years from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2018.

Here are the assessor’s comments on the Impact Evaluation, to highlight where the application was particularly impressive.

This is an excellent Impact Evaluation and a credit to the school. The application demonstrates the continued passion and commitment to understanding and applying the principles of international education in a creative and imaginative way. It also proudly showcases the international learning journey, including achievements and highlights the positive effects of global learning on all stakeholders involved in the process, including students, staff, partner schools and the wider community. This application satisfies the success criteria for the ISA and it is our pleasure, therefore, to recommend Ferndown Middle School for the Re-accreditation level of the International School Award.

The school’s relationships with the French and Sri Lankan partner schools are excellent and have delivered a great deal of success in terms of suggesting relevant global themes for study as well as providing the perfect environment for placing these themes within a specific contextual framework for the benefit of both students and staff. There is a great deal of scope for cross-curricular comparative extension work around the opportunities and challenges facing people who live in the various regions of the world with which the school has come into contact, such as Sri Lanka, for example. In that way, through the study of the issues mentioned above, combined with the study visits and exchanges to relevant partner schools, the school has introduced students to such global themes as ‘identity and belonging’ or ‘sustainable living’, for example, in a relevant and practical way.

In the context of foreign language teaching and learning in the international curriculum, it is encouraging to see how much importance the school attaches to foreign language acquisition. It would be exciting to introduce French or one of the languages of Sri Lanka directly into your international learning programme as the vehicles for connecting with global themes, as outlined above. This would serve to further enrich your already globally enriched curriculum immensely.


Rights Respecting School Award

On December 1st we were visited by two members of the Rights Respecting School team who came to assess us for the Level 2 award. During the morning, members of Pupil Voice and School Council conducted a tour which included talking to pupils and staff in the classrooms, they held a discussion with a selection of other pupils from across the year groups about their RRS experience and a group made up of staff, parents and governors were also interviewed.

After receiving the Level 2 award, we received some very positive feed-back on their visit. They were particularly impressed with the following: our pupils being active in the community; compliments week, which helps children to feel valued and combats bullying; our School Charter which helps us to integrate many of the rights; our awards: Eco Silver Award and International School Award; the range of clubs which inspire and encourage our pupils to develop their wellbeing; the many opportunities we have to make our voices heard; the Growth-mindset which keeps our pupils feeling positive towards their learning; the variety of engaging displays around the school building.

We are extremely proud to have been given the RRS Level 2 award after all the hard work pupils and staff put in to preparing for the visit.

Written by members of Pupil Voice.


Sainsbury’s Gold Award

Ferndown Middle School has successfully met the criteria for the Gold Award by demonstrating the following;

Participation

  • A system in place to track young people’s participation in the Sainsbury’s School Games
  • Opportunities that attract less active young people to participate in physical activity.

Competition

  • Held a Sainsbury’s School Games Day as the culmination of a year-round competition programme
  • A calendar of competition that demonstrates opportunities for young people with SEND to take part in competitions
  • A notice board promoting Sainsbury’s School Games activity.

To achieve GOLD LEVEL the school has met all of the prerequisites as well as the following:

Participation

  • Provide all students with two hours of physical education per week (within the curriculum only); and have extra curriculum provision in addition to this
  • Engage at least 50% of students in extracurricular sporting activity every week.

The provision of support for talented young sports people

  • Offer talented young sports people specific support to help them to balance their sporting commitments with school and home life.

Competition

Use the Sainsbury’s School Games formats to provide the opportunity for both boys and girls to take part in the appropriate intra and inter schools competitions.

Workforce

  • Engage at least 20% of students in leading, managing and officiating Sainsbury’s School Games activity
  • Have a School Sport Organising Committee or Crew in place
  • Utilise sports coaches to support school sport
  • Train wider school staff to support school sport.

Clubs

  • Have active links with at least six local sports clubs.