WESTFIELD SCHOOL AGAIN!

I visited Westfield Sports College in Sheffield again yesterday morning to see Andy Ireland, the headteacher, and Gary Simmons, the deputy head teacher to talk about the progress they were making and how we could continue to develop the Cutlers' 'Better Learners, Better Workers' programme.

The school becoming a centre of excellence for the programme and is working with us and have an ambassador group on five strands of 'Better Learners, Better Workers'; engineering, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS programme, computer science, retail and sport, health and well-being. They are also piloting a whole school strategy in Year 9 which will give every student at the school a Westfield Passport at the end of Year 11.

It was great to meet with Andy and Gary and discuss the impact the programme had already had at Westfield, how they see the programme contributing to the development of the school and to also discuss the further development of the model,. No one can doubt that colleagues at Westfield have transformed the learning landscape through the powerful use of collaborative school improvement approaches and through using brilliant programmes like 'Better Learners, Better Workers'.  But most importantly Andy and Gary are creating a culture of excellence built on passion, persistence, self-belief and determined, focused and deliberate practice and hard work.