Wardle Academy awarded prestigious accreditation for curriculum design

Staff and students at Wardle Academy celebrating exam results

Wardle Academy has been awarded the prestigious SSAT accreditation for transformational practice in its principled curriculum design.

The accreditation recognises that the academy’s work in relation to developing the curriculum that students study is among the most effective practice nationally.

The academy has been awarded this after a rigorous review process, including visits from an outstanding secondary school in the midlands, and an experienced SSAT reviewer, where the team reviewed practice through talking to members of the Senior Leadership Team, Directors of Faculty, and speaking to students. 

Reviewers commented that: “I came away with a definite sense of a school with energy and talent that was enjoying the curriculum journey it had embarked on,” and that the academy is full of “teachers and pupils who are making the Wardle way something unique and special for their community.”

The reviewers detailed that they were “impressed” with the ambition for the curriculum and the intention that Wardle Academy students can be “competitive on the national stage.”

Reviewers were keen to note that as a result of the curriculum, students have been supported to “have ambitious plans for their futures, and [they] talked about how the school supported them in these, for example, visits from sixth form providers, school trips and extra-curricular activities, as well as the lessons themselves.”

In summary, the reviewers stated that: “We were impressed by the way in which the staff at Wardle, guided by senior leaders, have developed a holistic curriculum that considers the needs of their specific context and students.”

Mr Watson, Senior Deputy Headteacher, said: “‘It is a real honour to be awarded this prestigious accreditation and demonstrates the hard work of colleagues across the academy in developing a curriculum for our students that is challenging, well-sequenced, personalised to our academy and our students, and effectively prepares students for their next steps when they leave us at the end of Year 11.”