MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER
I took up the post of Headteacher of Bushey Meads School in
January 2006. Bushey Meads is a successful non-selective
comprehensive school with Foundation status. We have a very good reputation in the
local community and are consequently heavily oversubscribed, with up to 700
applicants for the 170 Year 7 places which are available each year. Our sixth form is
popular, attracting the majority of our own Year 11 students as well as students from
other schools, all of whom settle in remarkably quickly and strike up friendships with
our existing students.
Bushey Meads provides a happy, safe and calm learning environment. There is an
excellent well-qualified, enthusiastic and stable staff, many of whom are heavily
involved in professional development. Operating on a foundation of traditional values,
Bushey Meads is an institution that welcomes change and regards itself as being at the
forefront of development.
The school occupies a 26 acre Green Belt site adjoining farmland, a riding school and
housing. Bushey is a very attractive and affluent area, with a village green, listed
buildings, golf courses and a range of shops and amenities. House prices in Bushey
are relatively high. Watford town centre is only three miles from the school and offers
many sports, leisure and arts facilities, a very extensive shopping centre and a good
range of affordable accommodation, including flats and houses for rent.
Transport links are good. Buses run from Bushey to Watford and to Stanmore. Trains
from Stanmore underground station, three miles from the school, run directly into the
West End, City of London and Docklands. Mainline trains from Bushey and Watford
Junction stations run to central London and to the Midlands and N.W. England.
On 15th and 16th May 2007, Bushey Meads School had its Ofsted inspection. The
inspectors reported that “Bushey Meads is a rapidly improving school that provides a
good quality of education. It provides good value for money. Parents recognise the
school’s recent ‘push for excellence’. Students’ views are summed up by a Year 11
student as ‘much better, and a place to be proud of’ ”. Overall, Bushey Meads was
graded as “a Good school, where Teaching and Learning are good and standards are
rising rapidly”.
Bushey Meads prides itself on being a fully comprehensive school, using a banding
system to ensure that children from across the ability range have an equal chance of
gaining a place. For many years it was difficult to attract the most able children
because of the large number of selective schools in the area but in the last five years
our excellent reputation in the community has resulted in a significant growth in the
number of more able children entering the school. In 2008 at Key Stage 3 at Level 5+
students achieved in English 87%, Mathematics 90% and Science 81%. All of these
results were above target. At GCSE level 77% of students achieved 5 or more GCSEs
grade A*-C (of which 66% attained 5 or more grade A*-C including English and
Mathematics). These results indicate the rapid trend of improvement in the school
and the school’s push for excellence. CATS testing predicts that subsequent year
groups in the school will achieve even higher levels. The performance of our sixth
formers has been improving steadily and is expected to continue to rise in line with
our rising performance at GCSE. The average point score per student in 2008 for AS
level was 175 and at A2 level 188. Our retention rate from Year 11 to 12 and Year 12
to 13 is high and improving. 2008 sees Bushey Meads Sixth Form reaching full
capacity.
In 2007 our success was recognised by the Specialist School Trust when Bushey
Meads was presented with an achievement award for these results.
Specialisms
In September 2001, the school became a specialist Technology College, and received
re-designation in February 2006. This specialist status provides significant additional
funding for science, design technology, maths and ICT. The latter provision is
benefiting all curriculum areas in the school, as ICT is an integral part of schemes of
work in all subjects at Bushey Meads.
Housed in predominately single storey buildings, the school specialises in
mainstreaming children with severe physical impairments. At present, there are some
16 students in this category, 6 of whom are in wheelchairs. We are very proud of this
tradition, believing that the physically-able majority in the school benefits at least as
much from this arrangement as do the physically-impaired. The school has been
featured in the TES, a ‘London Today’ television programme, a TTA training video,
the DCSF publication ‘Inclusion: SEN and Disabilities’ and an HMI good practice
report due to the success of this integration.
A general refurbishment programme is currently underway. Extensive modernisation
of the Sixth Form took place in the summer of 2007, and further improvements of the
main school took place during the summer of 2008, including a brand new catering
and hospitality suite.
School Organisation
There are five 60 minute lessons per day. The main school day runs from 8.40am to
3.15pm. In addition, Bushey Meads operates a ‘twilight curriculum’ until 5.40pm,
Monday to Thursday, for a number of sixth form subjects. Teachers of these subjects
may be timetabled to work until 5.40pm on some days each week. If this occurs, they
are timetabled for a late start or early finish on another day, or they choose to have
additional payments.
Most students in most subjects are taught in ability groups, although there is little
status or stigma attached to which set a student is in. In Year 7 we have introduced an
innovative skills based curriculum here subjects some subjects have grouped together
to offer the Opening Minds curriculum and Future Skills. In June 2008 Bushey
Meads hosted a training course for the National College for School Leadership to
promote our innovative national curriculum design.
Following restructuring in 2006 each Key Stage is led by a Head of Key Stage
assisted by a non-teaching Pastoral Manager, with the exception of Key Stage 5 which
has a teaching Head of Sixth Form.
The Sixth Form
A large, vibrant sixth form is an important feature of a comprehensive school. We are
very pleased to have seen our numbers grow to around 250 – reaching the Sixth form
capacity.
By offering a wide range of one- and two-year academic and vocational courses, at
advanced, intermediate and access levels, we seek to encourage our own Yr11
students to stay on and we seek to attract new students to join us. In order to timetable
this number of courses, some subjects are taught in the twilight period, as described
earlier.
The school is involved in partnership arrangements with local schools and the college.
This is currently under review for further expansion.
Work-Related Learning
Work-related learning has recently expanded in Bushey Meads with a small number
of Year 10 students working on vocational courses in partnership with West
Hertfordshire College. The school offers a small number of work placements for Key
Stage 4 students. In Year 8 we offer a ‘take your child to work day’ (we are
considering expanding this into Year 10) and have a specific careers and work related
learning programme in our Personal Development programme. In terms of courses the
school offers three Btec courses at Key Stage 4 in ICT, Business and Drama. The
school is a member of a Strategic Area Planning Group looking at curriculum
provision in the area, including the development of Specialised Diplomas. In
September 2009 Bushey Meads will be offering Diploma courses in conjunction with
West Hertfordshire College in ICT and Hospitality and Catering.
Every Child Matters
Bushey Meads has taken this agenda very seriously. The school improvement plan is
divided under each of the ECM headings. We have an active student parliament who
organise charity events and have input into school self evaluation and planning. The
school had a tradition of looking at healthy eating long before current legislation and
achieved Healthy School Status in May 2007. In the summer of 2007 cashless
catering was introduced. In March 2008 the school achieved Inspired Status for its
close work with the local community and in August the school’s Travel Plan was
approved by the Department for the Environment.
A wide range of sporting and extra-curricular activities are in place and are popular
among students. The student voice is being enhanced through the student parliament
expanding to include focus groups on specific issues and participating in Faculty
Reviews.
Bushey Meads has many close partnerships with schools and businesses and has
recently extended its links overseas by establishing two partner schools, one in the
Czech Republic and the other in Zambia.
Safer Recruitment
We are committed to safeguarding children and young people. We adhere to stringent
recruitment procedures and all post holders are subject to a satisfactory enhanced
Criminal Records Bureau disclosure.
Finally, we are currently the most improved school in South West Hertfordshire. All
of the staff, governors and students are delighted with the significant progress the
school has made over the last few years and it represents the combined effort of all
working together to achieve the very best.
We are very proud of our school and of the progress it has made – to facilitate your
decision to apply for a post with Bushey Meads you are welcome to come and see us
at work during a normal school day. To do so, please contact the Headteacher’s
office via Reception, tel no: 020 8950 3000.
Keith Douglas
Headteacher