Director of Achievement & Standards

Organisational Profile:

Our aim is to develop all of our students so that they leave us as confident, ambitious and respectful young people who make a positive and valuable contribution to the society they live in. We want them to have the skills and qualifications to succeed in life and the passion and self belief to do so. 

Durham Federation is a hard federation between two schools- Durham Community Business College (DCBC) and Fyndoune Community College (FCC) . Both are smaller than average comprehensive schools situated approximately five miles apart in County Durham. We have some very talented young people and a number of students who require the highest level of pace and challenge to make the most of their exceptional abilities. Alongside this, the proportion of our students qualifying for pupil premium and those identified as SEND is above national average. We are truly comprehensive and our students benefit hugely from being part of a small school community where staff know them well. 

Each site has under 400 students from years 7 to 11 and a shared staff who work across both schools. This enables us to deliver the broad curriculum usually found in a much larger school, giving students access to our FCC Farm and DCBC Construction and Hairdressing facilities. The Federation is led by one Headteacher, one Deputy Headteacher, one Business Manager, three Directors and six Faculty Leaders who are supported by leaders of Inclusion and SENCO. 

The Federation was placed in special measures in September 2014 and has been on a rapid journey of improvement since that date. With the appointment of a new Senior Leadership Team, Fyndoune Community College was removed from Special Measures by Ofsted in May 2015 where Leadership was recognised as being ‘Good’. This recognition has allowed us make further transformational steps in relation to our development plan and we have now completed a staffing restructure maximising on the skills of our staff and the needs of our students. We are supported by an IEB and the Local Authority.

Our students come from a variety of rural communities and families and the average student is white British. This means that we have to take extra measures to teach them about the importance of cultural diversity and their experience of mixing with people of different faiths and ethnicity is limited so our enrichment programme is vital in ensuring they experience all areas of life to best prepare them for the future. 

The Federation has entered into a partnership with Evolution Football Coaching to establish an on site football academy which started in September 2017 and with secured EFA funding,  DCBC will benefit from the development and improvement of its’ site in 2017-19.

Teaching for Learning is at the heart of everything we do and the reason for every decision we make. We are unique in the way that we plan and deliver lessons to ensure total quality and absolute consistency. Our unofficial motto is that ‘near enough is not good enough’ and we expect all members of staff to recognise the impact they have as educators in our schools. 

Our Vision

We are proud and passionate about what we are achieving at Durham Federation and we are resolute that our students will receive the best possible education so that:

• Every student succeeds and achieves their full potential
• We are a confident community who feel valued and supported driven by high standards
• We maintain an environment with clear expectations, mutual respect and high aspirations.
• We are inspirational