Changes to Governance of Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership – Consultation with Parents Click here to view letter.

The Federation Celebrate Ofsted Reports

News:
The future’s BRIGHT the future is SOMERVALE
Somervale rated ‘Good’ in all categories by Ofsted
February 2013

Over the past few years, since the formation of the Federation, Somervale School has had only one vision and that is to be the very best it can be and therefore ensure all students achieve more than they thought possible.

In 2012, staff , pupils and parents had their belief in Somervale confirmed when Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State, wrote to the school commending it for being in the top 100 most improved schools in Britain based on GCSE and A level results. Following this resounding endorsement, the school also saw a significant increase in the number of parents and children attending the Year 5 and 6 Open Evening in September 2012. These factors and many others served to demonstrate that not only was the school improving rapidly, but confidence in the local community regarding Somervale was also growing.

The early days of this year were to bring the school even more good news. On January 17th and 18th Somervale School was visited by Ofsted and inspected under the new, much tougher framework adopted by the national watchdog in September 2012.

The Ofsted Inspectors judged Somervale School as ‘Good’ overall and ‘Good’ in all sub-categories, with inspectors recognising the significant improvements which had been made since the last inspection in 2010 and in particular, since September 2012. This judgement places Somervale in an elite group of schools that are either graded ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’. Only 50% of schools nationally have achieved a good or better judgement. This outcome was met with jubilation form Somervale staff and pupils.
Click here to read the full article.


Ofsted Praises Norton Hill as a ‘FABULOUS SCHOOL’
February 2013

On the 17th and 18th January Norton Hill was inspected by Ofsted – the first full inspection since 2007! The inspectors were very impressed and said the school had many outstanding features including pupil behaviour, safety and attitudes to learning of students. The inspection team tested the schools own self-evaluation and agreed completely with the Headteacher’s judgements and that of the Senior Team and Governors. Inspectors went on to say that: ‘Teaching in all subjects, including English and Mathematics, is good and some is outstanding’. They were also very impressed with the Sixth Form, saying: ‘Students achieve well in the Sixth Form,’ and ‘Teaching in the SixthForm is good. A variety of effective approaches are used and students develop independence well.

Overall the school was graded as ‘Good’ on the new, much tougher Ofsted framework. The school was not judged as outstanding partly due to the downturn in English results last year which the school is still challenging along with other schools around the county as well as several Local Authorities. Schools like Norton Hill are still waiting for the outcome of the Judicial Review relating to this. Additionally, Inspectors identified two other areas for the school to work on. These were increasing the number of outstanding lessons and ensuring all middle leaders are checking the quality of teaching regularly.
Click here to read the full article.

OFSTED Reports & Press Releases - 2013:

Document Title	Date
Somervale School Press Release	February 2013
Somervale School Ofsted Report	January 2013
Norton Hill School Press Release	February 2013
Norton Hill School Ofsted Report	January 2013

What Is The Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership?

Norton Hill School, Somervale School and the Midsomer Norton Sixth Form collectively form the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership. All three institutions are based and serve the Midsomer Norton area and its surrounding villages. Both Norton Hill & Somervale Schools are separate and have their own identity but are led by the same Headteacher, Mr Alun Williams and one Governing Body.

What Is A Federation?
A Federation is established when two or more schools agree to work together on a formal basis. Federation schools remain separate schools. They have separate budgets, have separate OFSTED Inspections and report their results separately. A “hard” Federation (like the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership) is where the schools have a single Governing Body to run both schools with the accountability for the performance of the Federation held by one Headteacher supported by a Leadership Team in each school.

A Federation enables economies of scale to be made. Leadership costs are reduced with one Headteacher to run the Federation and one Bursar to manage the finances.

The Federation Strategic Vision

To view the Strategic Vision of the Federation, please click on the image below. (This will launch a PDF).

MIDSOMER NORTON SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP