Castle Mead Academy is characterised by high expectations, doing the simple things well, and the belief that all children can succeed. Situated in the heart of historic Leicester, we are driven by a moral commitment to ‘grow a community of excellence’ for the benefit of all children in the city.

It is a great privilege to be entrusted to educate another person’s child. For me, education is about developing both scholars’ intelligence and character. With extended opportunities our scholars have more time to acquire knowledge, skills and understanding, as well as more opportunities to broaden their learning and expand their horizons. Therefore, every scholar will have access to the best provision, being enabled to achieve highly regardless of prior attainment, needs or background. We have an expert staff team who are really focused on teaching and learning and we each child will meet their full potential with our careful support.

We have a very clear vision for our school, based on our core values. We set high expectations that are supported by an excellent teaching staff. We place maximum emphasis on excellent behaviour and thoughtful caring attitude to each other. This is supported by a strong pastoral system which ensures we know each child and helps develop their character and sense of citizenship.

Factors that traditionally act as barriers to the achievement of disadvantaged pupils have been actively designed out in the planning and design stage. Factors that make for an enriched provision for all pupils have been deliberately designed in: a knowledge rich curriculum, a longer school day, enrichment electives for all, weekly prep time, enhanced arts provision, especially in music, placing reading at the centre of school life and giving all access to high quality sports provision.

A noteworthy aspect of the school’s provision is its rich and challenging curriculum. The EBacc suite of subjects (English, maths, science, a modern foreign language, history / geography) take centre stage in the curriculum enhanced by a wider offer in the arts and sports. Subject leaders have embraced the opportunity to design a curriculum from scratch, identifying key concepts, ensuring their optimum sequencing and using this to inspire pupils to learn. The subject vision statements on our website show the high ambition for pupils in each area of the curriculum. This richness of curriculum is underpinned by a very well thought through research informed pedagogical approach, Invigorating Instruction.

The provision for the wider development of pupils is equally strong. Castle Character Time was a new and untested feature of the original bid and it has been exceptionally well realised with a compelling variety of sessions on offer. It is a joy to see the orchestra and choir up and running already!

Castle Mead is a safe and happy school. There are well thought through routines for each aspect of the school day and scholarsare actively guided through the Castle Credo of Be Kind, Work Hard and Build Your Character. Therefore, scholars have a clear and consistent framework to guide their conduct and learning.

Our routines are designed to ensure a calm and orderly atmosphere and we look for all our parents’ support in upholding the values, systems and rules that make Castle Mead an orderly and respectful environment.

We are fortunate to be ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’, building on the successes of Rushey Mead Academy and learning from the best ideas from across other academies and free schools, the independent sector and schools internationally.

Each year group is special to Castle Mead Academy. The early year groups will be especially cherished and will be the flagbearers of our academy values – setting the tone for the year groups to follow. Our goal is to give them both ‘roots and wings’, so as they can be grounded in good values and be able to fly to realise their ambitions.