Dorothy Barley Flagship Status

June 30, 2026

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Dorothy Barley Junior Academy has completed its 6^th year of Flagship School status. They have undertaken a project designed to strengthen assessment so foundational knowledge gaps in Reading, Writing, and Maths can be identified and targeted across the school, enabling more impactful teaching. The project also invested in high-quality continuing staff development and training to strengthen classroom practice even further and develop the curriculum. Training is focused on strengthening staff understanding of the links between emotional regulation, cognitive load, and academic progress. As a result of this training, there is a shared commitment to the principle that, “inclusion is everybody’s business.”

Developing curriculum

At Dorothy Barley Junior Academy, refining and developing the curriculum to better meet pupils’ needs is continuous and is considered a shared responsibility. All staff are invested in children’s progress and there are regular meetings with subject leads to review impact, undertake book looks, and discuss addressing gaps. Staff continually revisit content and are always looking for ways to make everything better and provide even better opportunities. There are clear examples of teachers adapting their teaching, with pupils describing the positive impact of in-the-moment adaptation and feedback, explaining “teachers will stop halfway through a lesson to tell you what you have done right.”

A central pillar of the project has been enhancing classroom practice, with a focus on consistency. The school uses a whole-school acronym to guide how pupils set out work, and a uniform structure across classes, which removes ambiguity for pupils. This helps make sure transitions are smooth and pupils know how to begin and set out work, regardless of the subject. Routines and expectations are applied consistently.

Cherry Provision

The pupils in the Cherry Provision, the school’s SEND Unit, are fully included in this culture and focus on assessment and improvement. A new Individual Support Plan has been introduced, which captures pupil and teacher voice across four areas of need, and allows children to self-assess their progress as a result of interventions, providing autonomy, pupil voice, and boosting engagement.

Moving forward, Dorothy Barley Junior Academy intends to build on the strong foundations of the work so far to develop its project further. It plans to sharpen focus on foundational knowledge, skills development, specialist SEND practice and parental engagement. Staff training will focus on strengthening the core components of foundational knowledge, with a sustained emphasis on improving the quality and consistency of pupils’ basic skills.

Work has already begun to strengthen essential skills across the whole cohort, with barriers to essential skills having been identified through talks with pupils – these align with the eight essential skills identified within the Skills Builder Universal Framework (speaking, listening, problem solving, creativity, staying positive, aiming high, leadership, and teamwork) and the school plan to continue involvement with the Skills Builder project.

Teachers are supported by high quality resources to develop each of the eight skills, and learners, including SEND learners, can be targeted precisely. There are plans to strengthen training for SEND Unit staff and, where appropriate, mainstream colleagues, ensuring that expertise is shared consistently across the school. Leaders plan to review target‑setting and assessment systems for pupil with SEND and English as an additional language to ensure they remain purposeful, consistent, and aligned with need.

Dorothy Barley Junior Academy has displayed an ongoing commitment to inclusive practice and supporting all learners with constant improvement and dedication. We are happy to award it Flagship School Status.