History
The Heartlands Academy, formerly The Heartlands High School, is to be rebuilt on its current site. The local community deserves a high specification resource to support its development in the next decade and beyond. Within the new designs, the Academy hopes to provide exceptionally high quality sporting facilities additional to those available through normal funding streams. As such are looking to source external funding to enhance the facilities for Heartlands Academy‘s students, parents and wider community in one of Britain‘s most deprived wards. We have a unique opportunity to make a real difference to lives of the children and the community, to give them a chance to be more, do more, than they ever thought they could do or be.
In February 2009, The Heartlands High School was judged to be 'Outstanding‘ by Ofsted, culminating a meteoric improvement over the last six years. Following the School‘s placement in the category of Special Measures in March 2003, the newly appointed Headteacher recruited a team of staff to transform this school. The school was removed from its category in May 2004, fourteen months later, a record at the time. Through adherence to basic teaching and learning principles and an ethos that every student 'Can do‘ the school has been in the top ten percent of schools nationally in each of the past three years for adding value, made all the more surprising from its recent past.
2003 - Where we were
When inspecting HMI identified the following areas to form a base for action planning.
School Leadership - A new management team was brought in. Glynis Jones, an experienced Deputy Headteacher, was seconded to the school and became Headteacher. Middle Management — has been strengthened and empowered by a restructuring process.
Improving the quality of teaching and learning — the new appointments of an Assistant Headteacher and AST contributed to this.
Assessment — Systems have been developed by The Heartlands High School ensuring data is used effectively.
Monitoring and evaluation - A system has been developed where the roles of individuals are clear in the process; time frames are established with clear success criteria.
March 2006
In March 2006 the school was inspected as part of the Ofsted cycle, in three years the school had progressed from one in special measures to being a GOOD and IMPROVING SCHOOL. The leadership, of the Headteacher, was recognised as OUTSTANDING. It was seen as the next step in the school‘s journey forward that they would apply for a Specialism.
February 2009
The school was again inspected by Ofsted and the transformation from Special Measures to Outstanding was complete. As stated by Ofsted 'This is an outstanding school.‘ The inspector found that against a background of significant challenges, the school improved dramatically. It was noted in the inspection that the sports college status has made a significant impact in raising standards in PE and more widely, through encouraging students to participate more in the life of the school.
The inspection team also commented on the extensive range of extra-curricular activities, particularly in sport, which leads to students displaying an excellent awareness of the importance of healthy eating and exercise. Also the Sports College and extended provision contribute significantly to the life of the community. The remarkable turnaround from special measures to an outstanding school has been achieved at Heartlands High School by providing enrichment activities and opportunities for all. The Headteacher Glynis Jones stated 'We are committed to developing a learning community, which extends beyond the school boundaries. As an extended school and Sports College we are able to provide high quality opportunities for the whole community.‘
Future stars
Melisa Hanson a recent student, set a National Qualifying time in the 200m at the English Schools Athletics Championship. She has become the first of our students to be selected for the UK School Games, has been used on publicity material for UK Athletics and is a real talent for the future.
Jade Richards was been selected for Birmingham City Women‘s‘ Reserves despite being under-age. With experience at Aston Villa and Coventry, she has progressed to open-age football due to her ability and athleticism. The possibility of an American scholarship has been discussed for the future.
Ali Naseri, now 17, won the British Championship at Taekwondo in his final year at school. He has maintained his commitment to the sport and has competed at European level where he won a Silver Medal. With the inclusion of the sport in the Olympics, he could also be a hope for the future.
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