In 2019-20 WE launched our stand out schools initiative. This brought secondary schools together to showcase their stand out features or practice; the innovative ways they were delivering a high-quality whole education that responded to the needs of their local context.
WE achieved this with school visits, based around our appreciative inquiry framework. A key part of the visits was ‘Ignite speeches’.
Watch Ignite speeches from WE school leaders below – summing up in five minutes what makes their school unique.
XP School: A curriculum based around learning expeditions
Read more about XP’s Learning Expeditions
Golborne High School – Curriculum: locally influenced, vocational-for-all and building aspirations
Shevington High School – Student agency in learning
Read more in the school’s spotlight on their approach to providing a whole education.
Matthew Moss High School – developing relationships with a transactional analysis influenced approach.
Read our report on Matthew Moss High School’s stand out features, and what ‘seekers’ said.
Shenley Brook End school – Belonging, believe, become: whole education provision to support the hardest to reach students.
Read Chris Holmwood’s blog on the school’s whole education approach
Wilmslow High School – a values-driven approach to curriculum and pedagogy
Walsall Academy – outdoor learning to develop aspiration and improve outcomes for white working class boys
Read the full spotlight on Walsall with Jon Clark here.
Oakfield High School and College – taking an individualised approach for learners with SEND.
If you found these videos useful, or you want to learn more about the schools’ diverse approaches, we have lots of ways you can go deeper. Read the school’s spotlights on our website, or why not download our end-of-year report with summaries of each school’s approach and share it with colleagues?
WE member schools have lots of opportunities to learn more about lots of stand out schools through virtual and face-to-face events. Download our membership handbooks.