KS2+3 Numeracy Leader

The School

St. Osmund’s became a Converter Academy in June 2012, along with our Upper School and two sister Middle Schools.  The rationale was to maximise the opportunities within Academy status and innovate and build on the existing areas of strength.  The school works closely with our partner schools and we are continually looking for the best outcomes for our students.  Currently we have 611 pupils on roll, 37 colleagues on the teaching staff, 19 teacher assistants and 20 other staff. 144 pupils have Special Educational Needs and 41 are eligible for free meals.

The school draws it pupils from a defined catchment area (about half of Dorchester and some of the surrounding villages) in accordance with its Admissions Policy, which is available on the website.  We seek to avoid competition with the other middle school in Dorchester, with whom St. Osmund’s has close cooperative relations.  Most of our pupils come from three First Schools and, on leaving us, go on to Thomas Hardye School.

The school achieves high standards and has a robust self-review procedure to explore ways of maintaining and improving these standards.  We do not, however, believe in change for its own sake and so we constantly challenge ourselves with the question, “Is this going to be better for the pupils?”.  These efforts have been recognised by OfSTED (“Outstanding” in both 2008 and 2012), SIAS (2008 and 2012) and Investors in People.  The school also holds an ICT Mark, a Sportsmark Gold, a Healthy Schools Award, a UNICEF Rights Respecting School Award and, recently, the top Eco Schools Green Award.

We believe strongly in staff development and as such are happy to be linked with Exeter University as an Initial Teacher Training School.  Through these contacts we are able to encourage all forms of teacher development, through to post-graduate level.  We are fully engaged in workload reform, because we believe that investing in teacher time is the best way of ensuring the highest standards for pupils.  All teaching staff receive protected PPA time, pro rata to their hours of work, and we have employed two Supervisory Teachers to cover short term absence and provide strong continuity when teachers are absent.

The school is organised around four Year Teams, each led by a Head of Year.  The Senior Management Team (the Headteacher, the two Assistant Heads,  two Senior Leaders and the Business manager ) meets regularly with Year Heads to monitor pupil achievement and welfare.  One Assistant Head has particular responsibility for data analysis and the other for curriculum development. 

The School Association, made up of parents, friends and staff, is a highly effective organisation raising considerable sums of money for the school.

As a Governing Body we are actively involved in the school’s life.  Each Governor takes liaison responsibilities with a particular subject department or area of school life to ensure that the Governing Body is always aware of needs, strengths and successes.  The Governors work through two Committees (Curriculum and Staffing, and Finance and Premises).  We value the support and guidance that the Headteacher provides to them and for the support provided by our very experienced and competent Clerk (who is also the school’s Finance Officer).

The School Building

Opening in 1979 with 250 pupils, the school has expanded tremendously in the past 34 years.  It is now a modern, single storied building in well established grounds and boasts up-to-date specialist facilities for Science, Music, Drama, Art, Design Technology, ICT and, since 2002, a Community Sports Centre. 

The Site Manager is an integral member of the school staff, taking additional responsibilities for much to do with premises and health and safety matters.

The Dorchester Area Schools Partnership (DASP)

DASP came into being in 1992.  Its mission is simple: to provide the best education for all students who are educated in the Dorchester area, by linking our resources, expertise, enthusiasm and commitment.  It provides a level of continuity in our educational provision that few, if any, can match.  In the Partnership there are 13 First Schools, 3 Middle and 1 Secondary, an independent Prep School and one Learning Centre.

Its strength as a group has meant it has made particular progress in Behaviour Support, ICT, Assessment, the maintenance of buildings, literacy, staff development and a whole host of other initiatives.

The Partnership has an annual Development Plan and a steering group.  The headteachers of member schools meet regularly to foster its work.  There is a termly meeting of Chairs of Governing Bodies. 

DASP is very important to us and the new Headteacher will need to be committed to it and its work.

It is worth visiting DASP’s website at www.dasp.org.uk to get a fuller picture.

Our Area

Dorchester, an ancient community, is the County Town of Dorset and home to the offices of the County and West Dorset District Councils.  Along with the modern County Hospital and the Prison, these are the largest employers.  There is a population of about 19,000 people and we think it is a good place to live and work.

The town is expanding.  In the west, in the catchment area of Dorchester Middle School, the Duchy of Cornwall’s Poundbury development is a mixture of residential and commercial building.  The site of the former brewery in the centre of the town, and in St. Osmund’s catchment area, is nearing completion as a mixed development of dwellings, shops and leisure facilities.  It will also provide a new railway station on the Waterloo to Weymouth line (London about 2 hours and 40 minutes, half-hourly).  Dorchester West is on the Weymouth to Bristol line, giving links to Wales, the Midlands and the North.
Dorchester is the shopping centre for a wide area, with all the usual facilities.  The weekly market thrives, attracting local people and large numbers of visitors.  Dorchester attracts a lot of tourists, with several museums.  It was also the home of Thomas Hardy the novelist and poet, and William Barnes the dialect poet and linguist, whose fame brings a lot of visitors. 

House prices in Dorchester compare to those of the south east of England, while incomes are more in line with those of the south west.  Although generally an apparently affluent area, Dorchester has pockets of deprivation, as the recent opening of a food bank demonstrates.

St. Osmund’s has special links with St. Mary’s Church, visiting it for the annual Carol and Leavers services. The Music Department also contributes to worship there.