Castle Academy Astrea Academy Trust
Welcome to Castle Academy.
Castle Academy is located in Conisbrough within Doncaster in the county of South Yorkshire, close to Barnsley and Rotherham. We currently have 6 classes of children across the school with children aged between 4 and 11 years. For more information about our school please click on the prospectus link at the end of this page.
Castle Academy is a proud member of Teach First’s Leading Together programme. Leading Together is a two-year programme to help schools build a strong leadership team through expert coaching, learning and collaboration. The programme works to support a school’s own improvement journey by building leadership capacity across the team and beyond. The programme helps schools create a culture and environment where all teachers and pupils can thrive. To find out more please visit www.teachfirst.org.uk/leadingtogether
We are also part of the Challenge Partnership. This is made up of schools across the UK who work together to support each other’s development. Comments made about our school at the recent Challenge Partnership review (December 2019):
“The curriculum is broad and balanced. Pupils’ work displayed around school supports this. Pupils learn to play various musical instruments, learn Spanish and take part in a wide range of learning experiences outside the classroom. The Forest School and several links with the community provide opportunities for learning about the natural world and local history.”
“Strong relationships between staff and pupils and a supportive ethos in classrooms ensure pupils are willing to have a go at new tasks.”
“The school is a strongly inclusive community and equal opportunities are well promoted. British values such as tolerance, understanding and respect for all are at the heart of the school’s day-to-day work. ……Teachers and leaders know the most vulnerable pupils well and meet their needs effectively. Pupils with SEND are fully included in all aspects of the life of the school and are taught well. As a result, They make rapid progress from their starting points.”
We are delighted to be a part of the Astrea Academy Trust. The Astrea Academy Trust has the highest expectations of pupil attainment in national assessments, but our aspirations take us beyond the concept of “schooling.” We believe in “Inspiring Beyond Measure.”Astrea academies are committed to ‘educate, not just school’, promoting the development of resilience, empathy, aspiration, contribution and happiness.
You will see this at Castle Academy within our school Golden Rules which were developed by our School Council.
At Castle Academy we speak kindly and politely to children and staff.
At Castle Academy we act kindly towards children and staff.
At Castle Academy we look after our learning environment.
At Castle Academy we enjoy our learning.
The Astrea Academy Trust logo also communicates the importance we place on collaboration, development and aspiration: The three figures coming together in the shape of a tree, which represents growth, whilst the tallest figure reaches upwards, towards a star, which is above and beyond the highest branch of the tree.
This is a hugely exciting time for our family of schools. Astrea has been recognised by the Department for Education as being well placed to raise standards and achieve excellence for pupils in a growing number of schools nationwide. We are presented with a rare opportunity to make a real difference to the lives and life chances of school children – many of whom haven’t previously received the educational opportunities they deserve.
To tackle this inequality, a Northern Sponsor fund, amounting to £10 million, was created in order to attract and encourage the best sponsors to take on schools in the north of England. Astrea Academy Trust is one of the first to receive a share of this fund and has been trusted with setting up high-performing academy hubs in areas with some of the greatest need.
The Astrea vision enables individual academies to flourish with real autonomy, whilst also ensuring a strong ethos of support and collaboration across our schools. This balance is necessary in order to achieve long term sustainability for our schools.
“Reach for the top of the tree and you may get to the first branch but reach for the stars and you’ll get to the top of the tree.”
Lemn Sissay, MBE
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