Bolingbroke Academy
Wandsworth, United Kingdom
About Bolingbroke Academy
Bolingbroke Academy
Although we are privileged and proud to be part of the wider Ark network with the ethos and benefits that come with it we have our own culture and values that is at the heart of all that we do.
We are a courageous, compassionate community – empowering excellence.
Training Opportunities
Our HR and Teaching and Learning teams are dedicated to offering the best development for all staff joining the academy, challenging and supporting staff to excel in their roles. In order to deliver exceptional training, we offer twice as many training days as standard. For teaching staff, we offer weekly CPD sessions which are held on a vast array of topics and run by many staff all showcasing their expertise. To develop the trainers, we ensure all sessions are reviewed retrospectively providing feedback and suggesting presentation and content improvements. We also offer weekly line management for everyone, additional coaching sessions for new and trainee staff and a more regular and developmental appraisal system.
Wellbeing and Inclusion
At Bolingbroke we value the individual and encourage difference. To achieve this, we start with inclusive recruiting practices. Starting from our job descriptions to blind recruiting, structured shortlisting and scoring we ensure that all employees applying are only measured against their skills, achievements and values. We want all our employees to have a voice, these can be heard through the wellbeing committee or diversity group. The Diversity Group promotes diversity within the curriculum, pupil’s school experience and for staff whilst the Wellbeing committee consists of representatives from all departments in the school and highlights issues concerning the staff and supporting in creating achievable and beneficial solutions. All staff are involved in co-planning meaning their input into the curriculum and teaching strategies are implemented. An employee will also have a 360 aspect to all appraisals ensuring peer review and employees to contribute to their managers appraisals. The school is dedicated to training and develop their leaders and staff on diversity and inclusion through a programme of CPD sessions and online training.
We recognise our outstanding talent through half termly staff voted awards and our annual Above and Beyond award.
Specialisms
Like all Ark academies, Bolingbroke Academy will specialise in mathematics. We also have a strong focus on music, which helps develop self-expression, self-discipline, performance and team work as well as building a strong sense of community through collective participation. Our aim is for every pupil to play an instrument confidently and to take part in regular performances.
Be part of a network
Joining our school means becoming part of a network of education experts who are all united by the same purpose - a commitment to making a difference where it matters most. You will have the opportunity to come together with your peers locally, nationally and sometimes even internationally, to share resources, learning and good practice. You'll also be supported to focus on what you do best. We are always looking for ways to take away additional pressures, to give you more freedom to concentrate on improving education outcomes for young people. We offer support beyond the classroom; from prioritising strong behaviour management strategies to giving you access to our award-winning data management platform.
Ofsted
Bolingbroke Academy was inspected by Ofsted in December 2013 and was graded as "good". Read the full report here. You can also read our short 2018 inspection report here.
Location
I joined Bolingbroke as Head of Music having completed my 2 years teacher training at another school – and in my first year here I learned more than I ever learnt while training. I found myself working with some of the best teachers I had ever seen, and due to the investment in staff development and CPD, I was supported to become the best teacher I could be. Our open-door policy meant that I could learn from the best, coaching meant that staff could have regular 1:1s and practice on specific techniques, and Friday morning CPD sessions gave all teachers the tools and consistency to succeed. Joining the school with only 4-year groups meant that I grew with the school, and it has been amazing to see the creation of GCSE and A Levels over the subsequent years. We are lucky enough to have a specialism in Music, with all pupils learning an instrument in Year 7 for free – a scheme which has continued since the school’s first year in 2012. As a result of strong support for Music and the Performing Arts from leadership, we were able to build up incredible annual school productions, termly music concerts, and links with the community such as open mic nights, primary school matinees, carol singing on the streets and performances at the local care home. We also have strong links with Wandsworth Music, performing annually at the Royal Festival Hall, and of course our links with other Ark schools, which enable annual performances at the Barbican. Very few state schools in the country have had the support to build up such strong musical traditions and I am so proud to be part of such a special community.
- Ms Breckon – Head of Creative and performing Arts and Teaching and Learning LeadI graduated from University with a degree in English and was not sure what career path I wanted to go down. I come from a family of teachers and so I had a lot of fantastic role models around me. I started at Bolingbroke at the end of 2018, and my feelings of nervousness were quickly dispelled by the strong sense of community in the staff body. I learnt so much about what it means to be an outstanding teacher from watching great ones at the academy. I went on to train with the school and Ark teacher training and I can honestly say it was the best decision I made! With a healthy balance of rigour, feedback, and support, I was able to really develop my teaching practice in such a short time. Working at Bolingbroke has also taught me what it means to really give young people the best start in life as pupils are at the heart of what we do. This is evident in the consistency and detail of CPD sessions and co-planning where staff are supported in their professional development. There is a clear ethos of continuous learning at Bolingbroke with the endeavour to deliver quality teaching to our pupils. When I completed my training year, I knew there was no other school I wanted to complete my NQT placement and hopefully I will be able to continue my teaching career for as long as I can here!
- Ms Alabi – NQT English Teacher and KS4 Lead