Dear Families
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in the very best of health. What a week! It’s been positivity week at Derby Moor this week and it’s been an absolute joy. Students have really enjoyed the activities at lunchtime and the positivity postcards and, personally, it has been great to engage with so many of our young people about the great work they have done. Beyond the activities we have seen students going out of their way to help others, to do the right thing and to generally make our academy a lovely place to work and to learn.
I’ve spent some time away from the academy this week connecting with other school leaders to learn from each other and to share some of the systems and practices that underpin our High Expectations and Community values at Derby Moor. It is always nice to recognise and showcase our strengths but also to connect with others and share ideas.
Year 12 Settling in Evening
Our Year 12 Open Evening took place on Wednesday 8th October. Thank you to all the families who joined us. It was wonderful to have many positive conversations about progress and to share details about upcoming events and support on offer in our Sixth Form. If you were unable to attend, the data point will be sent out via email. This details performance in recent settling in assessments where you can see how students have performed compared to what is expected by teachers at this stage in the course. Teachers have also provided feedback on quality of independent study and homework. We encourage you to review this and work together to support your child through the transition to studying at Sixth Form.
Year 7 & 8 Update
This week as a whole school we have been celebrating the positive things that come with being a student at Derby Moor. “A positive school climate—where students feel a sense of safety and belonging and where relational trust prevails – improves academic achievement, test scores, grades, and engagement” (Darling-Hammond, L. and DePaoli, J.L., 2020). Throughout the whole week, students have been able to earn postcards for what we consider to be how all DMSA students should be. This could be for being kind, showing maximum effort or showing our 4 R’s for employability. Both Year 7 and 8 students have taken this and ran with it, showing amazing behaviour and attitude throughout the week.
Also, during lunchtime we had some positivity events including a magician, who performed magic tricks to all year groups, tug of war competitions, positive pebble arts and crafts and a DJ with an impressive fire breathing performance. Students really enjoyed these fun activities at lunch times and behaved exceptionally.
Rewards and positivity are really important to us at Derby Moor. You will see from classcharts the number of positive points your child receives. We encourage you to have these positive conversations with your children to recognise how well they have performed up to this point.
Year 11 Update
A huge thank you to all families who attended our recent Year 11 Raising Achievement Evening. It was a successful event outlining practical ways families can support students throughout this important year. We were also delighted to welcome our Post-16 partners, including Derby and Burton Colleges, Huws Gray, JCB, Juniper Training, and Luminate Careers. For anyone who couldn’t attend, the resources will be shared soon via email and on the school website.
As students start thinking about their next steps, there are some exciting events coming up. Burton and South Derbyshire College are holding an Open Day on Saturday 11th October (10:00am–1:00pm) — reserve your place here. On the same day, JCB are hosting an Apprenticeships and Early Careers Open Day at their Global Learning Centre in Rocester (ST14 5JR), with drop-in sessions between 10:00am–12:00pm and 1:00pm–3:00pm. These events are a great chance for students to find out more about future pathways. We also must remind you of Derby Moor Spencer Academy’s Sixth Form Open Evening on Wednesday 15th October.
We’re also looking forward to some fantastic opportunities within school this month. On Tuesday 14th October, all Year 11 students will take part in a Mock Assessment Centre with JCB volunteers, helping them gain confidence and experience for future applications. Then, on Thursday 23rd October, students will take part in Mock Interviews with business volunteers — a brilliant way to develop interview skills and receive valuable feedback. Tutors will be supporting students in preparing them for the questions asked, as well as ensuring CVs and Records of Achievement folders are up to date.
Finally, our staff have begun delivering intervention sessions to support students’ progress. Selected students will also attend targeted sessions, including an English Language ‘Walking, Talking Mock’ on Thursday 16th October. Letters and emails have been sent to those involved. Thank you for your continued support as we help Year 11 make the most of these valuable opportunities.
Positivity Week
As mentioned earlier, this week we held our first Positivity Week of the year. A great opportunity for students and staff to come together, spread kindness and joy across the academy. Each day brought something different, and it was great to see everyone getting involved.
We kicked things off with Magical Mayhem, where students were wowed by live magic tricks and treated to tasty samosas from the food hut. On Tuesday, the Amphitheatre came alive with Fire Breathers and DJ creating a festival atmosphere that everyone loved.
Midweek saw plenty of teamwork and laughter during the Tug of War, followed by Positivity Postcards on Thursday, where Teachers shared kind and thoughtful messages with students.
We finished the week with Positivity Pebbles decorating stones with uplifting words and designs, a lasting reminder of the week’s overall theme.
A huge well done to all our students for making it such a success!
Student Leadership Team Update
This week has been another exciting and impactful one for the Student Leadership Team, as we continue to support a wide range of events and initiatives across the academy.
Black History Month: We continued our celebration of Black History Month with a focus on influential figures in English and Maths. These subjects have been brought to life through tutor time activities and displays, encouraging students to recognise the contributions of Black individuals in these fields. In addition, our transition music has been updated to feature influential Black artists, helping to create a more reflective and celebratory atmosphere around the school. Our Black History Month competition has also officially launched – we’re encouraging all students to get involved and share their creativity!
Positivity Week – Samosa Shack: The Student Leadership Team opened the Samosa Shack at lunchtime on Monday. This initiative aimed to promote community spirit and bring a smile to students’ faces while raising funds for future student-led projects. Thank you to everyone who came along and supported it.
Raising Achievement Evening – Year 11: On Wednesday, we supported the Year 11 Raising Achievement Evening by demonstrating effective revision techniques to students and their families. It was a valuable opportunity to share advice and help students prepare for their upcoming exams with confidence.
Student Leaders Association – Launch of Student Associate Applications: This week also saw the launch of our applications for Student Associates – a new initiative aimed at Year 12 and 13 students. These roles are vital in helping the Student Leadership Team deliver events and projects that make a positive impact across our school community. We’re looking forward to welcoming new faces to the team soon!
Looking Ahead – What’s Happening Next Week……
National Library Week: We will be supporting our brilliant school library in raising awareness about its resources and encouraging more students to engage with reading. We’ll also be promoting the ongoing book sale – a great chance to pick up something new to read and support the library!
Black History Month – Week 2: Our celebrations will continue with a focus on influential Black figures in Art. We’re also launching the Inktober Art Competition, inspired by the tutor time activities, to give students a creative outlet to showcase their artistic talents. We can’t wait to see what they create.
Diwali Lunchtime Fayre: We’re excited to announce that on Tuesday 21st October, the Student Leadership Team will be hosting a Diwali Lunchtime Fayre to celebrate the Festival of Light with our whole school community. The fayre will feature Traditional foods and sweet treats, Fun games and activities and Lunchtime entertainment to bring the celebration to life. This is a fantastic opportunity for students and staff to come together and enjoy the festivities.
Duke of Edinburgh
Bronze welcome pack payments are now live on Parent Pay. Silver and Gold participants started on their awards this week. All participants will be attending map reading workshops next week. Any questions, queries or concerns please email Miss Lancaster.
Tours of the academy
I will be running some tours of the school over the next two weeks on a Tuesday morning for families of Year 6 students. The aim is to allow them to see our school in action. It will be whistle stop tour of the building whilst students are in lessons and learning. If you have friends or family with children in Year 6 who would like to join me, please ask them to mail the info@ email or contact school reception. Places are limited and will be offered on a first come first served basis.
Scholastic Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair began this week and will continue to run throughout next week. Students are able to buy reading books and other small items, for cash. The Fair is located in the Learning Hub at lunchtimes. Students should see Ms Jones in the Library for more information.
Sports Update
On Friday 3rd October, students showed fantastic determination and team spirit as they competed in the annual Intra-School Cross Country Championship, held amidst the challenging conditions of Storm Amy. Notable performances came from EM, who finished 9th, and AA-L, who placed 31st in their respective races. A big thank you to our Sixth Form student leaders and volunteer staff for their support in marshalling and ensuring the event ran smoothly. Well done to all who took part for representing their year groups and school with such resilience and enthusiasm.
Careers update
This week’s job of the week is a ‘Mechatronics Engineer’
Derby Moor Dispatch: The Derby Moor Dispatch goes out weekly to all students in Year 11, 12 and 13. The Dispatch contains a wide range of opportunities for work experience, summer schools, careers related webinars and so on. Please do have a look at the latest edition. The Dispatch is emailed to the students’ school email address, so it is important that they check this regularly on a Monday. You can also view the Dispatch via the Careers page of the Derby Moor website. Please take a look at the website as there is a wealth of useful information including a specific page for parents.
Luminate Careers: Our independent and impartial Careers Advisers from Luminate Careers have an excellent website with a wealth of useful information Please have a look at these links designed for parents/carers about careers conversation starters and Post 16 Options. All Year 11 students will be receiving a helpful booklet produced by Luminate Careers about Post 16 Options shortly.
Final thoughts
We are five weeks into the new academic year with a larger student population than we have ever had, following record applications to sixth form and another year of over-subscription in the main school. We’ve have achieved some exceptional results at GCSE and Post 16 this summer with the progress made at GCSE looking like it sits in the top 3% in the country and the value added at Post 16 looking like being +0.42 at this stage. Both of these show how much ground our students make up when they join our community and buy-in to our collective aspirations. More notable this week is how lovely a place our academy is, day in day out. We have a wonderful, dedicated staff team who serve a diverse and unique set of young people. Those young people go out of their way to make our school a happy, buoyant place to spend our days. We are in great shape as a community. Together We Succeed.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend,
Scott Doyle
Principal