BSGC is fully committed to school improvement and ensuring that we consistently enhance the education and opportunities offered to our students. A key component of this commitment is enshrined with the School Development Plan (SDP). This plan identifies and articulates, to all constituents, the school’s priorities for improvement until 2026.

The plan was formulated from the feedback from two main sources; the school’s inspection in February 2023 (full report available via link), and the BSGC Parent Survey from March 2023. Both provided enlightening insights into the school’s strengths, as well as areas for development; these aspects formed the basis of our SDP.

The main aims for the SDP 2023-26 are:

• Make effective use of data for school development, planning and improvement.
• Highlight quality teaching methodology and the monitoring teachers’ planning, pupils’ workbooks, and the use of assessment data.
• Raise standards of English writing by the end of Primary.
• Enhance the school communication.
• Increase opportunities for participation in physical activities and sports.
• Enhance the school’s Learning Support provision.

A professor and expert of Educational Psychology, Barak Rosenshine carried out research on scaffolds and cognitive supports, cognitive science and direct observations of “master teachers”, to specify the ten most effective methods of instruction. These include strategies such as scaffolding, modelling, questioning and giving time to practise.

The teachers at BSGC are engaging with Rosenshine’s principles to improve the quality of teaching and learning across the whole school. The principles ensure teaching staff understand the foundations of good practice and provide a common language for reflection, collaboration and to improved teaching.

Teaching staff have reflected on the area they would most like to improve upon and have joined a working party with their colleagues. They have identified a specific intervention from one of the principles of instruction which is forming the basis of an ongoing inquiry project for the year. Teachers will be trialling their intervention and evaluating its success with a specific cohort of students. As part of the inquiry project, all teachers will have the opportunity to perform peer observations and liaise in professional dialogue with their colleagues to reflect on the standard of teaching and learning in our classrooms.  

This is an exciting project, engaging all teaching staff in pedagogical research and encouraging all to improve for the benefit of our students!

High quality teaching is the bedrock of the school, forming the foundation upon which all other strengths can grow. Within the SDP we focus on a shared understanding of Rosenshine’s pedagogical principles that will be fundamental to the school’s teaching. These principles, based on extensive research, classroom practice and lesson observations, will permeate all teaching across the school, with all staff expected to infuse and inculcate into daily practice. 

Additionally, regular visits to the school’s classrooms by managers on Learning Walks, where they observe daily practice, have become a daily expectation within the school. Regularly planned scrutiny and comparison of student work by teachers, agreed lesson planning expectations and the use of student performance data to guide teaching, are also being implemented.

The use of English is a unique and fundamental component of the school. Full immersion in the medium of English is initiated from the first days in the school. This immersion develops analytical, discursive, questioning, augmentative, descriptive and creative skills in oral and written English. These skills are central to the school and, in this element of the SDP, we will extend and enhance levels of written English by the end of Primary.

The students’ development will be based on a revised curriculum pathway, the extensive use of writing frameworks, careful tracking of progress and the comparison of student work across the school. These initiatives, in addition to alignment and liaison with the Secondary English Dept, will ensure an enhancement of written skills in this area. 

BSGC looks to ensure that the school community is well informed so that it is knowledgeable about the school, thereby contributing to a harmonious and unified school. Based on the Parents’ Survey, a series of Open-Door Meetings have been introduced so that all parents have the opportunity to pose questions and receive responses, talk directly with senior staff, and for the school to share additional information as well. These meetings will be schedule regularly.

The parents’ survey is planned to be conducted annually, ensuring a consistent channel remains open for the sharing of ideas and concerns. The enhancement and communication of clear guidelines for parents to contact secondary teachers will be implemented, as well as increasing the support and guidance for primary/secondary transition. 

In order to ensure that the school community, and wider Canarian public, are knowledgeable and well-informed about the strengths and achievements of the school, we will enhance our profile and presence on social media.

Physical activity already has a high-profile and importance within the school, with numerous clubs and sports fixture, alongside curricular PE that extends right up to pre-university levels. With this impressive range of opportunities already available, BSGC is looking to extend the time and range of options available during after-school and lunchtime clubs. This will include contacting additional external specialists, alongside training BSGC staff in coaching and delivery of PE.

The number of House sports competition will be augmented, with one-a-month in primary and two/three per term in Secondary. The secondary lunchtime sports clubs will also be promoted, with a specific focus on encouraging participation from teenage girls.

The school’s PE Dept continues to lead and organise all the local schools’ sports competitions, for altruistic reasons as well as a desire to provide numerous opportunities’ for BSGC pupils.

In order to ensure good support is available to all our pupils, a review and extension of our Learning Support provision is plan for 2023-24. This will include alignment across the different sectors of the school, coordination of the school’s structures and processes and the enhancement and amplification of links with external specialists to support BSGC students.