About the School

Hodgson is a mixed comprehensive school for students aged 11 to 16. It predominantly serves the towns of Poulton-le-Fylde, Thornton-Cleveleys and the surrounding Wyre villages, although some students travel from further afield on the Fylde Coast.

Ofsted, the Government’s Office for Standards in Education, regularly inspects schools. Hodgson School was judged as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted inspectors in September 2005. They said:

“This is an outstanding school, which provides very good value for money. The quality of teaching is good and ensures that the pupils achieve high standards and make good progress. The curriculum is well designed to provide a range of pathways to ensure the pupils are prepared well for further education or training. This is supported by effective partnership, working with post-16 providers and local employers. “There is outstanding care and guidance provided for all the pupils which enables them to flourish in a calm and ordered environment and to make good progress in their personal and social development. The pupils’ attitudes to school and their behaviour are exemplary. The success of the school is due to the excellent leadership and management provided by the head teacher and his senior team. This group, and indeed all staff, work in close collaboration with the effective governing body to drive the school forward. They complete rigorous self evaluation and know the school’s strengths and weaknesses well. They have established the correct priorities for improvement and have a track record of achieving their goals.”

We appeared as one of only four Lancashire secondary schools rated to be “outstanding” in the Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools 2005/06. It is even more impressive when considered that only 10 per cent of secondary schools nationally achieved this top grade.

Every Child Matters

At Hodgson, we fully support the Government’s drive for change for children as part of the Every Child Matters agenda. Every child does matter to us here and we strive to ensure each child can:

· Be Healthy

· Stay Safe

· Enjoy and Achieve

· Make a Positive Contribution

· Achieve Economic Well-being

One of the lynchpins of this is a strong system of pastoral care. There are two Pastoral Officers and drop-in sessions run by a school nurse. The pastoral team also link with other key external support agencies.

Each student is placed in a form group in Year 7, and remains in this for the duration of their time here. There are up to 30 students in each form, and they meet each day for morning registration (8.45am-9am). A Progress Tutor (teacher) oversees each form and watches over the academic and personal development of each student.

Year Group Student Progress Coordinators and other senior pastoral staff, who have ready access to a wide range of external support agencies as and when needed, support this team of Progress Tutors.

During registration, the Progress Tutor electronically records who is present in school. It is a legal requirement that an accurate register is taken. Students arriving after the end of registration must sign in at the school office. Teachers also take a computerised register of every lesson.

ASSEMBLY

The law states that students should participate in a collective act of worship which is broadly Christian in nature. You may, of course, ask for your child to be withdrawn from assembly, if this conflicts with their own religious faith.

VALUES

As a key focus all personnel, including governors, have committed to deliver the acronym PAUSE. The whole school feels this will provide everybody with a clear message for what we stand and strive.

PAUSE means P = Punctuality A = Attendance U = Uniform S = Safe & Sensible Behaviour E = Examination Success

Please will you, as parents, continue to work with the whole school community in reinforcing these simple messages, so as to build a better school.