Case Study: Portland Academy – Families First Quality Award
Name of the Organisation / Department
Portland Academy
Part of the Ascent Academies Trust
Why did you wish to achieve the Families First Quality Award?
We are part of Ascent Academies Trust and three of our partner schools had already secured the award. It made sense for us to work within the same framework to identify our strengths and areas to develop, as this can feed into the Trust’s strategic plan. Family support and engagement has become an increasing focus in post-COVID times.
The Approach to Achieving the Standard
Pre-meets with our FFQA assessor were extremely useful to identify who should participate in the interviews. Discussions with our partner schools who already hold the award provided helpful tips on how best to collate evidence. We obtained permission for SLT members to access the assessment tool, which supported workload distribution and ensured that the right people were contributing relevant information.
The Impact / Benefits of Working with the Families First Quality Award
This is yet to be fully seen following our May assessment, but we believe our families will feel they have a louder voice in shaping how we provide the best service to ensure positive outcomes for their children. The report will be referenced in staff briefings and training to provide clarity around the steps we are taking and how our colleagues are involved. Achieving this award gives us a clear view of what is working well and offers an opportunity to reflect and build upon our strengths.
The Assessment Feedback
We have just received our feedback and will be analysing it during leadership meetings. From this, we will devise an action plan, assign roles, and ensure that improvement elements are included in the academy’s improvement plan for the upcoming year.
Overall, How Was Your Experience with Assessment Services?
We had to postpone the initial assessment date due to capacity and workload at Portland. Assessment Services were extremely understanding and sympathetic, offering us a future date. All colleagues interviewed by Sue reported that she was warm, pleasant, and made them feel at ease with her positive manner.
It was reassuring to see that she agreed with our assessment and our planned improvements. The feedback we received was enlightening, offering brilliant suggestions for moving forward.
