Teaching and Learning

We believe that students are entitled to the most appropriate teaching to fully develop their individual learning potential. Bemrose teachers are committed to providing a challenging learning environment, adopting varied approaches to ensure maximum achievement. Our professional development programme ensures we remain at the forefront of educational initiatives. Bemrose is the only school in Derby to be awarded Teacher Training status by the Government for excellence in staff training. We expect and encourage our students to try their best an reward them when they do. Students are assessed regularly and their progress is tracked carefully to ensure they reach their individual targets.
We keep parents informed by sending home reports and having regular Parents' Evenings.
Our aim is to provide students with the skills and ability needed to access the curriculum and allow effective progress to be made. There is a fast track policy to meet the needs of our most able students and we have a wealth of experience and expertise in providing individual support for students with learning and language difficulties. Bemrose is an Enhanced Resource School offering specialist facilities for students with communication difficulties.

Years 7, 8 and 9 (Key Stage 3)

We offer the core national curriculum subjects; English, Mathematics, Science, Information Communication Technology, Humanities including Religious Education, Design & Technology, Physical Education, Arts and Modern Languages. This programme is enhanced by Personal, Social & Health Education (PHSE), Literacy & Numeracy classes build on work and experiences from primary schools.

Years 10 and 11 (Key Stage 4)

All students have an opportunity to gain GCSE and GNVQ qualifications (up to 10 GCSE equivalents). Students also study PHSE, Careers and PE. GCSE's; English language and literature, Mathematics, Science (double award), Design & Technology, Modern Languages, PE, GNVQ Part 1 foundation & intermediate (equivalent to 2 GCSE subjects); Art & Design, Business, Health & Social Care, ICT, Leisure & Tourism. Some students follow vocational courses on our work related learning programme.

Post 16

We offer Post 16 courses as part of the Millennium Centre provision - the consortium of Littleover, Derby Moor and Bemrose Schools. Students take AVCE or intermediate GNVQ ICT and a choice of AVCE or intermediate GNVQ in Business and Health & Social are, or AS Level and A2 level in Sociology. These courses are supplemented by a broad enrichment programme and opportunities to gain Key Skills qualifications.

Working Together

At Bemrose we believe that to be successful we need the support, interest and full involvement of parents. We want to work closely with you to make plans and decisions affecting our students' futures together. We want to listen to you and hope you will listen to us. We promise to keep you fully informed and ask you to do the same for us. Our Home-School Agreement cements partnerships by outlining the ways in which we can all do our best for our students.

Attendance

We guarantee that student with over 90% attendance will improve and succeed. We need you, the parents, to ensure that your children come to school regularly and on time. We operate a computerized attendance system that enables us to contact home quickly on the first day of student's absence if no explanation has been received. Parents are expected to contact school by telephone or letter whenever their child cannot attend school.

Support for learning

We believe that interesting and challenging homework can make a vital contribution to our students' learning. Homework is set at least once a week in each subject and student record assignments in their diaries. We encourage our students to develop their initiative to learn by using research resources, which are available out-of-hours. Parents play a vital part by showing an interest, providing a quiet place for their children to work and supporting them to present their to an high standard and on time. These two requirements are essential ingredients of future employability.

Continuity of care

For every student the Form Tutor and Head of House are the first points of contact for parents. Where possible they stay with students throughout their time at Bemrose and ensure that they are happy, safe and successful. This link is vital as students are often grouped in ability sets for their academic learning and may move as a result of their efforts in class.

Moving ahead

We start caring for our students even before they join us to make their new life at secondary school a happy and exciting time. Strong links with our family of primary schools help us to learn as much as we can about our students and help them get to know about Bemrose. Equal care us taken to help our students and their families choose appropriate courses in Key Stage 4. We work closely with a range of partners to help our students make the right decisions about Post 16 education, training and employment.

Participation

A key feature at Bemrose is the value we place on involving students and their families in the improvement and success of the school. We believe that our students are valued clients and include them in school life by having an elected School Council and Youth Action Group who promote student involvement in community issues and support for others.

High Expectations

We believe that, to keep our promise we need to have clear values about the education and care of young people and the highest expectations of conduct of all our partners who contribute to the success, happiness and safety of our school. Our code of conduct for students is to:

• Treat other the way you would want to be treated.
• Look after your school equipment and environment.
• Work hard in lessons and allow other to as well.
• Be polite and friendly to other people.
• Be an excellent ambassador for our school by behaving well while in or out of lessons as well as in the community.
• Be open, honest and trustworthy in all that you do.

Bullying is unacceptable at Bemrose and our anti-bullying policy clearly reinforces our determination to see that no cases are unsolved. To encourage our students to be proud of their school, we have a compulsory dress code. We hope that families appreciate the importance of this and help their child to meet our high standards.
The code involves straightforward clothing available at a wide range of shops and our students from ethnic backgrounds wear their cultural dress. We set sensible limits on jewellery and make-up.

An enriched educational experience

We believe that activities outside the classroom can enrich and extend our students' learning. We offer a full range of clubs at lunchtime and after school including ICT, Drama, Reading, Science, Sign Language and a popular steel band. Our students enjoy many visits to museums and theatres, both locally and further afield. We organize visits to London and Paris as well as fieldwork trips to support students' coursework. There is an extensive sporting calendar, with many inter-form as well as inter-school matches. Our students regularly celebrate considerable success at local, county and national level.

Preparing for the future

We have a well structured careers programme with students receiving support in specific careers lessons and from our Careers Adviser. The emphasis is on decision- making and students are encouraged to focus on their strengths, leading to well-informed decisions about their future. In Year 10 all students undertake work experience which is linked to the work they do in their GNVQ. This combination helps students to appreciate the world of work and how this can support success in their studies. We are developing partnerships with world of work and business link organizations in order to enhance the opportunities available to our students.

Celebrating diversity

We acknowledge and work towards accepting and valuing difference. Our curriculum reflects the rich and varied cultures represented by Bemrose students. Pride in culture is encouraged through celebrations in which the whole school takes part.